As they try to keep their championship window open, the Golden State Warriors will spend the 2025-26 season seeking the right balance between leaning on their veteran players and managing their workload.

So even if the Warriors’ NBA title hopes mostly hinge on a healthy and effective Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler, they also depend on some other secondary developments.

First, can fifth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga and third-year guard Brandin Podziemski play consistently enough to ensure permanent starting roles? Secondly, can second-year center Quinten Post offer enough quality minutes to make Warriors coach Steve Kerr both reduce Green’s minutes at the center position and follow through on his plan to sit 39-year-old veteran Al Horford in back-to-backs?

“I’m excited to see what he can do this year,” Kerr said of Post. “But I expect him to take another step.”

After the Warriors selected him with the No. 52 pick, Post spent the first part of the season with their G League team as a two-way player before eventually signing to a full-time contract midway through the season. The Warriors made right on their investment. Post finished high in his rookie class in numerous statistical categories, including 16th in scoring (8.1 points per game), 16 in rebounding (3.5), and first in 3-point field-goal percentage (40.8%). Since then, Kerr has also become impressed with Post’s passing, floor spacing, and defensive versatility.

Post spoke to EssentiallySports about that trajectory, how Stephen Curry has encouraged him as a shooter, and how Horford has mentored him. Post also dished on winning the inaugural “Chesstival” in Las Vegas this past offseason.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

How has the offseason and early season been treating you so far?

Post: “We just got going, and I’m finding my rhythm on the court. The offseason was great, and the preseason was good. After the season, I spent about 2 1/2 weeks home with family. Ever since then, I’ve been back in San Francisco. It’s been a good time. It was really cool to see my family. Some of them visited. But just to come home and see some of the guys in the Dutch basketball world that I grew up playing with was definitely a cool experience. It was nice.”

How did playing hoops in the Netherlands shape you?

Post: “Basketball isn’t the biggest sport in the Netherlands. It’s really a soccer-dominated country. But it helped me. It helped me mature early on. I left the house at 18 to go to Berlin to play for a year. Then at 19, I crossed the ocean to go play in college (Mississippi State, Boston College). It taught me a lot just with the style of basketball and the fact that I’m a stretch big. In the European game, they teach kids a full skillset. It’s about being able to play in and out, both with and without the ball. So on a basketball level, I feel like it has shaped me into the player that I am.”

Given the rookie season you had, what are your expectations for how you build off of this?

Post: “I feel like it’s mostly team-oriented. Whatever my role might be this year, I just want to help the team win. Obviously, with Al Horford coming, I have to see what that will mean for my role. I know that Al won’t play all 82 games because of his age and how they’re managing him. So on some nights, my role might be bigger than others. But whatever it is, I just want to build upon what I did last season. I want to play with energy, protect the basket, and shoot the 3 at a high clip. Those are my main goals.”

How do you prepare for the fluidity with your role, given how Al will be managed and that Steve often wants to keep his rotations flexible for matchups and performances?

Post: “For me, it’s only year two, so I kind of have to learn throughout this season on what that’s going to look like. But I know that if you stay ready and you don’t get too down or too high on yourself in any given moment, then you’ll be able to be ready when necessary.”

Steve said that he expects you’ll take another step in your second season. He also said that typically the game slows down for second-year players. It’s early, but have you felt that yet in the minutes you’ve had?

Post: “I wouldn’t say so necessarily. I had some decent showings in the preseason. I had some games that didn’t go exactly my way. Now, in the first three games of the season, I’m really finding a rhythm. I’m finding my spot on the team as it may be different than last year. I wouldn’t say that I’ve had it click where it’s all slowed down yet. But I think as these games stack on top of each other, at some point, it will click. I’m very confident in myself and my abilities. I know that I’ll help this team at some point.”

What have you learned from Al so far?

Post: “He’s been great. He’s a true professional with how he approaches the game and how he approaches every day. He obviously has a bunch of experience and is versatile both offensively and defensively. So it’s been great learning from and seeing him work every day. He shows so much consistency. He shows up every day and has the same routine every day. For a 39-year-old, he’s very agile. That’s a testament to the work that he’s put in over the years.”

You finished first in your rookie class in 3-point shooting (40.8%) and even set a franchise record for most 3s made in your first 42 games (73). What enabled you to shoot the ball so well?

Post: “I think my time in the G League helped me with getting a rhythm. In the preseason last year and early on in the G League, I actually struggled with my shot quite a bit. So I got out of my head and got the reps in. That really helped me out. Once I was called up here for the Warriors, I felt like I was already in a rhythm. I continued my hot streak that I set up in the G League.”

What did you change?

Post: “I didn’t change my technique. But shooting is a very mental thing. If you’re doubting your shot, then it becomes hard. I came in with a lot of pressure on myself to make shots early on in training camp. So I struggled early. But once I got my reps in the G League and I played some games, I got my groove back. Then I shot the ball really well out there. It was just reps. I shot a bunch of shots, obviously. The coaching staff really helped me by telling me that I didn’t have to worry about misses. They trusted me in making shots.”

In what ways did Steph help you with that?

Post: “I wasn’t too much in contact with him while I was in the G League. But once I came up here, he told me that if I’m open to let it fly. So besides him, I feel like all the players expected me to shoot it and expected me to make it. So that really helped.”

What did that mean to you for Steph to give you that message?

Post: “That’s great. It also makes sense. If I’m a threat on the floor, then it also opens up the floor for him. So it also helps the team when you’re aggressive with your shot. It opens up lanes for the others.”

Just out of fun, have you and Steph ever done any shooting contests with each other?

Post: “I haven’t done too many shooting drills versus Steph. So I don’t know how that would fare. But he’s a pretty good shooter himself. Well, not pretty good. He’s the best shooter in the world. So who knows. Maybe one day.”

In the games that I watched, it was also clear that you weren’t afraid to be physical and you even trash-talked some of your opponents. What gives you the confidence to hold your own like that?

Post: “When you’re a rookie, you’re really just playing with house money. You’re playing against all of these guys that have status and years in the league. As a rookie, you kind of don’t really have anything to lose. So it’s easy to play all out and take it at those guys. That’s the mentality and something that I want to build upon in my second year.”

What was the physicality and trash-talking like?

Post: “I don’t recall any specific moments. Regardless, it was in the heat of battle. I’m just trying to play as hard as possible. Then if it gets physical or there’s any trash talk, it’s just part of the game.”

What have Steph, Jimmy and Draymond been to you as leaders?

Post: “Jimmy having the team in San Diego earlier in the offseason was really cool. Steph and Dray are just so consistent for us as leaders. They’re the heart and soul of this team. So I’m always chatting with them in practice about certain plays.”

What were the highlights of Jimmy’s San Diego get-together?

Post: “Probably Jimmy’s wine collection (laughs). I’m not too big of a wine drinker myself. But I definitely had to give it a go. It was definitely a fun time with the team.”

Draymond marveled earlier about Jimmy’s wine collection. What makes it so special?

Post: “I’m not a knowledgeable wine drinker. But I’ve never seen so much wine in my life. It was definitely cool. I know he put a lot of work into that.”

Did you also have his coffee?

Post: “Yes, I also had Jimmy’s “BIGFACE” coffee.”

Nice. What did you think?

Post: “Great, great, great. I really loved it. I just had a regular latte. But it was great. I was definitely impressed.”

On another topic, how did it come to be for you to get involved in a chess tournament last summer?

Post: “After I had my break in the Netherlands, I came back here. I worked out every morning in the facility, and then I had the rest of the day for myself. So I had some time. I always used to like to play chess. But I played inconsistently. So I played a lot this summer online. I even joined a chess club in San Francisco. And then I got invited to the ‘Chesstival’ in Vegas. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ It ended up being a really cool event. I met a bunch of great people. I ended up winning a section of it. That was pretty cool.”

You won the tournament. What was the key and strategy to pull that off?

Post: “In one section, I got to the semifinals. But in the individual tournament, I won the whole thing. I think it helped that I played a lot before. Building up to that, I was playing a lot in the summer. Maybe some of the other guys that played did it at the last minute. So I would say it was my preparation.”

You donated the $25,000 prize money to “Reading Partners.” What impact did that make?

Post: “I know the organization was very grateful for the donation. They stand for a very good cause. I did an event earlier with them this year because they also worked with the Warriors. It’s about helping kids that come from all situations and helping them to learn how to read. You’d be surprised how many kids in the world don’t have those basic fundamentals. So this is about setting up these kids for future successes. Since it’s an event that I have already done and it was a cause that I knew, I knew that was a good cause to donate to.”

There’s some thought that basketball players that play strategically are approaching the game as if they’re playing chess. Have you actually seen your chess background influence how you play?

Post: “No, I don’t think that correlates too much. The only thing that I could see with basketball and the chess board is how you’re solving problems. I could see if you’re good at one thing, it can help you with another thing. But I don’t think practicing chess will help your basketball skills.”

It’s been written elsewhere that you played against Moses Moody and some of the coaches. How did those matches go?

Post: “I feel like I won most of them. I definitely believe that I’m probably the best chess player in the NBA. But I don’t know how many people really play.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Essentially Sports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.