After Jordan Poole blossomed into a key player for the Warriors and helped them win a championship in the 2022 NBA Finals, he seemed like the beacon for the Golden State Warriors’ continued success. However, tensions arose due to Poole’s issue with Draymond Green and his subpar showing in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
Coming off last year’s playoffs with averages of 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a 34.1% shooting percentage, the 24-year-old offensive talent was sent to the Washington Wizards for veteran point guard Chris Paul.
Then, last night, the Washington Wizards played in San Fransisco, against the Warriors, for the first time since the trade.
Before the game, Poole was honored with a pregame video tribute and received a warm standing ovation from Warriors fans.
Poole ended up scoring 25 points on 7-for-21 shooting in the Wizards’ 129-118 loss, shared a nice embrace with his former coach, Steve Kerr, before signing autographs. Best of all? Draymond Green was nowhere near in sight.
“That was pretty special,” he said. “It kind of shows my impact that I’ve had here, which is really cool, especially starting off my career early at the highest level, winning a championship, I played with a lot of Hall of Famers. But I really embraced myself with Dub Nation, submerged myself with them throughout my tenure here. It was pretty special to see that I got the love back.”
