Gui Santos' encore to breakout for Warriors hinges on a simple characteristic originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Signing a three-year, $15 million contract at the end of February last season was monumental in Gui Santos’ journey. Life-changing money represented a road from Brazil to the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft as the No. 55 overall pick, years of developing in the G League and now becoming one of basketball’s best stories as one of the Warriors’ key players.
Inking the contract was a no-brainer for Santos, though it quickly looked like a steal for the Warriors. Santos will always believe signing instead of hitting restricted free agency was an easy decision.
A little more than four months later, Santos is even more sure he made the best decision of his life by marrying his longtime girlfriend Julia Lawrenz last July in her hometown of Curitiba, Brazil.
“Julia, she’s a real partner,” Santos said after Warriors open practice, days before the start of the regular season. “She really understands me really well. There’s days where you don’t want to do nothing, you just want to chill, she’s there with me. But there’s days where for some reason you have a bad practice or bad game, she’s the one that helps me leave that behind and think about the next game or next practice.
“It’s been really good, she’s been helping me a lot.”
Santos has never second-guessed his forever commitment to Julia, and the Warriors feel they’ve struck gold in their commitment to him.
He was one of the breakout NBA players last season. The key to his encore isn’t so much about a single skill like shooting. Santos’ next steps center around what he has been best at the past few months off the court: Decision-making.
Santos was inactive for the game last season when Jimmy Butler tore his ACL against the Miami Heat on Jan.19. The Warriors’ season came to a halt when Butler held his knee on the Chase Center floor. They had to move on as quickly as they could, and Santos soon found himself in a much different role.
Instead of being mainly an energizer, Santos was relied upon much more as a scorer with the ball in his hands. Santos averaged 14.3 points per game the rest of the regular season, starting 28 of the 35 games he played, and shot over 50 percent from the field. But Santos also averaged 2.2 turnovers per game in the span, including nine games of at least four turnovers.
He averaged just 0.8 turnovers per game in his first 33 games of the season, starting just twice and scoring only 3.7 points per game.
“I’ve talked to him about this,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said at practice, the day before the final preseason game. “I thought late last season was great for him to have to take on that playmaking responsibility without Jimmy, without Steph. He made a lot of mistakes, but he made a lot of great plays. So this year is more about improving the assist-to-turnover ratio. Make the plays that you have to make, but be more cautious. You don’t need to be wild.”
With a healthy Steph Curry scoring a combined 75 points in the Warriors’ last two games, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg having the ability to score 20 and even 30 points, and Brandin Podziemski continuing to progress as a scorer, Santos now can complement them while sliding into a role that better serves his style.
“Last year you had to be a little wild at times to try to force things because we didn’t have enough. We have enough now,” Kerr says, regarding his message to Santos. “… We can’t force the issue, and I think sometimes he is forcing the issue, but he’s perfectly cut out to play the style we’re playing, because he’s got a lot of skill.”
Kerr’s message came after a preseason game in which Santos had three turnovers, and five the previous game. He didn’t commit any in the preseason finale after Kerr’s talking points.
Though the Warriors didn’t yet know what they had in Lendeborg, they knew Santos’ being free with the ball needed to be reigned in. That was the message relayed to him going into the offseason, and it translated into how he took on his training.
Santos has considerably changed his body from when he weighed less than 200 pounds before being drafted to now being a strong 225 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame. His 3-point shot is now part of his arsenal, and his footwork around the rim can be ranked among basketball’s best. Each drill training in Brazil centered around what to do next, what decision was best for himself and the team.
“First thing was my decision-making,” Santos says of his offseason focus. “Every time I was doing some drill, the goal of the drill was to make sure I get into the paint and have control of the game. I need to know where I’m going to pass the ball next, how I’m going to go up, how I’m going to use my step-through and footwork to get around guys so I can finish. That was the thing I worked on most during the offseason.”
When asked how he felt about his game going into the season, Santos’ answer was hardly about himself. It was a reflection of still being the player who provides energy, and now refining the little things that lead to wins.
“I’ve got to take care of the ball and help on the defensive end,” Santos said. “We need to keep Steph 100 percent on offense, so I will be the one to run always on defense. I’m the guy who will do whatever they need me to do.”
Santos, however, isn’t feeling 100 percent healthy. He’s closer to 85 percent as he deals with left knee tendinitis, but told NBC Sports Bay Area that he’d much rather play at less than full strength and give his team everything he has than have them be more hampered as a short-handed team.
That’s his decision to make, and the Warriors’ medical staff clearing him. Golden State is hungry for wins after turning around a 0-3 start, and Santos is an essential puzzle piece. The key to his encore season after his breakout isn’t about massive leaps.
It’s about him honing in on who he had to become last season through smart decisions this season, and continuing to represent a Portuguese phrase he prides himself on: vontade de vencer.
Santos translates the words as “a desire to win.”
