Jordan Poole on learning from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and becoming a ‘leader’ during rocky Warriors season
JORDAN POOLE is loving the limelight and responsibility that comes with being a leader at one of the NBA’s top teams.
“It feels fitting,” the Golden State Warriors guard told SunSport this week.
Poole, 23, steered the Warriors’ offence after Steph Curry’s shoulder injury in December.
And he’s done a stellar job, improving his scoring average by 10 points to put up 27.9 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.0 rebounds during Curry’s 11-game absence.
Poole’s performance wasn’t ideal – the 4.8 turnovers per night do lower his overall grade for the last three weeks.
Still, the former Michigan university standout made a good ‘Splash Brother’ impression along the way.
He let 3s rain to log two 40-point games, one of which set his new scoring career high at 43.
And he helped Golden State, who take on the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, launch a five-game winning streak.
Poole went through a rollercoaster pre-season, seeing him pen a four-year, £115million contract extension but also involving an unsavoury Draymond Green incident.
A viral video showed Green violently punching his younger teammate during practice in early October.
However, all that must seem like a distant past after a busy three weeks of filling the Curry-shaped void – certainly vaster than his 6-foot-2 frame would suggest.
Poole said he enjoyed the guidance of the franchise’s core while filling in for Curry, proving once again he firmly remains at the heart of the team’s generational change.
“Just find a way to learn from Steph, learn from Klay, learn from Andre,” Poole said.
“Just kind of try to lead these guys to win some games, to get everybody else involved, to get everybody else incorporated.
“Still being aggressive, you know, playing my game. My minutes obviously went up with Steph being out a little bit.
“So just seeing more things, learning, getting new experiences, and just trying to find ways to adapt, better myself as a player, as a leader of the team and just trying to put these guys in situations to be successful.”
Watch the Golden State Warriors @ Chicago Bulls live on Sky Sports Arena and NBA League Pass on Sunday Jan. 15 at 8:30pm UK time as part of the ‘NBA Sundays presented by NBA2K23’ primetime initiative. NBA League Pass is now available at a new midseason price of £69.99.