In the win over the Lakers, rookie Brandin Podziemski of the Warriors discusses his outstanding first preseason showing.

Brandin Podziemski, a rookie for the Warriors, may end up being the one that got away for a few NBA general managers.

In his yearly preseason general manager poll, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann posed a number of questions to front-office officials, including which rookie was the best value in the 2023 NBA Draught.

The most votes (43%) were cast for Houston Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore in that area, despite dropping from a predicted top-five choice to No. 20 overall. Three players that received ten percent of the vote, Keyonte George of Utah (the sixteenth overall pick), Scoot Henderson of Portland (the third overall pick), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. of Miami (the eighteenth overall pick), came after Whitmore.

Ranking fifth? Podziemski, the guard from Santa Clara that the Warriors took with the 19th overall pick.

Podziemski had trouble shooting the basketball throughout summer league, but on Saturday, he had a big game as Golden State defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 125-108 in the preseason. Podziemski scored 11 points in 26 minutes on 5-of-11 shooting, adding four assists, six rebounds, and six rebounds.

As a rookie, he’ll be trying to secure a spot in the Warriors rotation by winning over coach Steve Kerr.

General managers last year decided that Rockets forward Tari Eason and Detroit Pistons centre Jalen Duren were the two best steals in the 2022 draught. As a rookie, Duren finished with 9.1 points and 8.9 rebounds in 67 games, while Eason finished with 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 82 games. Not a single vote was cast for either player for Rookie of the Year.