Becoming a professional athlete means you've already accomplished something that's almost unthinkable. After going pro, though, there's still so much more of the mountain left to climb.
Warriors third-year guard Jordan Poole has emerged as an exciting up-and-coming player and potential NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate in his breakout 2021-22 campaign. After fulfilling a dream he had as a kid from Milwaukee, the 22-year-old has his sights set on the highest of NBA accolades.
"I did it," Poole told Grant Liffmann on the latest episode of the Dubs Talk podcast. "I did what I needed to do for the small-town kids' dreams. I said with [being in COVID-19 protocol], 'Let's re-evaluate, what can we actually do?' There's never been anything I've seen that has felt too challenging to where it's like there's no way I'll be able to do that.
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"All-Star? Yeah, why not? Championship? Why not? I'm seeing some of the best players in the world every single day in our facility. If they're doing it, I can just follow their path, it works for them. I try and apply it to what I can do and I'll give myself the best chance. In terms of if there is anything that I want to do, yeah All-Star, win a championship, shoot [90 percent] from the line. Stuff like that."
Being around superstars such as Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson for the past three years has inspired Poole to follow in their impressive footsteps and continue an incredible legacy.
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The Warriors (27-7) are just ahead of the Phoenix Suns (27-8) for the NBA's best record, which makes Poole's championship goal very feasible this season. He's currently a starter, but he'll likely revert to a sixth-man role once Klay Thompson returns to the floor for Golden State, so Poole's All-Star goal might have to wait until a starting role is permanently his.
Golden State Warriors
Until then, Poole -- who's averaging career highs in nearly every offensive category (17.9 points, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 44.2 percent field-goal shooting and 90.9 percent free-throw shooting) this season -- will continue to learn and grow behind some of the best players to ever play the game. That only should benefit his NBA stardom pursuit.