New Warrior Brandon Williams Makes a Move from One Legend's Mentee to Another
At the beginning of the summer, all things pointed to the Warriors running things back… And they’ve pretty much stayed the course on that, as curious as that confidence might be.
The most recognizable offseason add thus far aside from rookie Yaxel Lendeborg (who impressed plenty in Summer League) has been Georges Niang, a tenured NBA veteran who figures to fit the same role as players like Nemanja Bjelica, Dario Saric, and Kyle Anderson, with shades from rosters past as a play-connecting wing. We saw very little action after the trade deadline from Kristaps Porzingis, who’s looked certainly playable when healthy and has the potential to add a fresh dynamic with his excellent stretch-big abilities and rim protection; But with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined until late in the winter, the team will need contributions from elsewhere to make sure things stay on track in what could be a tumultuous start.
Enter Brandon Williams. An honorable mention on the PAC-12 conference All-Freshman team in 2019, Williams missed his sophomore season at Arizona while recovering from injury and preparing for the NBA Draft. Things didn’t immediately shake out for him, as the 6’1 guard from Southern California went undrafted in 2021, leading to a spend of the next few seasons in the G-League. Most recently, Williams was a part of the Dallas Mavericks organization through a couple two-way contracts before finally getting fully signed in late 2025. That move paid off for the Mavs, as Williams went on to average 13 points per game (a career-high) off the bench and provided a scoring punch that the team was missing to keep them competitive in number 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s debut season this past year.
Brandon Williams didn’t just earn a contract with the Mavericks, however: He spent plenty of time with and earned the respect of Kyrie Irving, one of the game’s most skilled guards, and had the opportunity to get some game from him to keep his natural talent advancing.
“I always modeled my game after him. Ever since I was little, I put Kyrie on the pedestal with Kobe in terms of my favorite players” Williams said on a Mavericks broadcast last season while discussing the impact Irving’s had on him.
There was a strong mentorship between Kyrie and Brandon during their shared tenure in Dallas, and it’s an excellent sign that the younger guard was willing not only to listen but to learn from someone he idolized. And while Kyrie Irving is an all-time great, there will be new opportunities for another legend to give Williams guidance as he continues to establish himself in this league.
After the signing, SF Chronicle beat reporter Luca Evans said that a part of the pitch to get Brandon Williams to Golden State was actually given by Steph Curry himself. During a workout over the summer, Williams was prompted to leave a touch early for “a Zoom call with Wardell”.
And not too long after, he signed a contract to wear blue and gold next season alongside the two-time MVP.
For the litany of strengths Brandon Williams has on the basketball court, there’s been two notable outliers which warrant some attention: His shooting, and his defense. Over the course of his games played in the NBA so far, Williams has shot 45% from the field and 28% from three. A relatively small sample size, and his free throw percentage (77% from the line) indicates there’s some positive regression possible, but it’s a quality he hasn’t been able to show which the Warriors often don’t overlook when it comes to getting minutes to their players. What he appears to lack in proficient jump-shooting, however, he does make up for with a keen ability to get crafty around the basket and a highlight-reel handle - much like his idol Kyrie. The marked improvements in the long-range aspect of his game was noticeable when accounting for volume during his stint in Dallas, so it seems to be obvious that spending enough time with Curry will help him lock in the consistency that could help elevate his perimeter game to another level.
On the defensive end, it’s not expected that he’ll become a lockdown. The game tape shows that he’s active and involved, so while he’s on the smaller side for a guard and the pace of the game is a step up from the G-League, with a full season of NBA hoops under his belt he has a lot of room to continue improving on that end. This is another facet that Curry can help with: Despite being smaller and slighter, Curry led the league in steals in 2016 and, on top of improving on-ball, has always been able to pester passing lanes and make up for his lack of physicality with good IQ and team defense far more than defenders will give him credit for. These are aspects Williams can pick up a lot of game sense from while still shouldering a scoring and playmaking role when his number is called.
It may not be the splashiest signing the Warriors could make, but there’s opportunity for Brandon Williams to make an impact off the rip. The Dubs don’t have an established secondary ball-handler when Curry goes to the bench (or even when he’s drawing double-teams on the floor), and while Brandin Podziemski has shown flashes along with improvements late last season into this off-season, that spot is one Williams could make his case for without many others to make a logjam at the 1. Adding him is the kind of fringe-looking move that can make up for striking out on bigger trades; So while it shouldn’t be expected that he’s going to become a 25-a-game scorer while Butler works his way back from injury, the opportunity is there to make some waves… and Williams has shown he can make the most of that kind of opportunity, especially with the work ethic, the toughness he’s shown thus far, and an obvious willingness to learn from the best.