"He’s a funny dude": Warriors’ Lindy Waters III on Steph Curry & Draymond Green's influence, lessons, and more (EXCLUSIVE)

Most of the shots clanked off the rim as Stephen Curry sat on the bench to heal the tendinitis in his knees.

Perhaps not surprising the Golden State Warriors struggled to replicate the shooting accuracy that the NBA’s all-time greatest shooter often produces. Without Curry, the Warriors labored through a 102-92 loss to the LA Clippers on Friday at Intuit Dome mostly because they shot a collective 35-for-95 from the field (36.8%) and 7-for-38 from deep (18.4%).

Most of those misses belonged to Warriors guard Lindy Waters III, who missed all six of his shots from 3-point range. But what Waters lacked in shooting accuracy, he made up for in steals (two) and in plus-minus (+16) in 16 minutes off the bench. That explains why Kerr called Lindy’s play “fantastic.”

“That’s what I love about Lindy,” Kerr said. “He impacts the game no matter whether he’s making shots or not.”

The Warriors traded their No. 52 pick to Oklahoma City for Waters after developing as a strong two-way player both with the Thunder and their G League team. Since then, Kerr has become pleased with Lindy’s game enough to fit him into the rotation as a steady reserve and occasional starter.

The Warriors (15-15) enter Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Suns (15-15) at Chase Center expecting Steph Curry and Draymond Green (back) to return from injury. But expect Lindy to stay as a key part of the Warriors’ rotation. He entered Friday’s game averaging 5.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 17.9 minutes per game.

“He knows how to play. He does everything pretty well,” Kerr said. “He handles the ball. He makes good decisions. He’s a good defender. He’s got good length and size, and runs the floor hard. So he’s played some important minutes for us this year.”

Lindy spoke to Sportskeeda about his development, Curry’s recent message to the team, Draymond Green’s defensive influence and more.

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

Though you didn’t make any shots against the Clippers, Kerr praised your game a lot with your steals, plus-minus and overall impact on the game. What did it take to do that despite not making shots?

Waters: “Some nights, shots aren’t going to fall. But the effort that you give has to be at a maximum. I’m just trying to fly around, create havoc, get some steals and make some plays down the stretch. I’m going to keep shooting the ball.”

Can you put your finger on why they weren’t going in for you?

Waters: “Nah, just didn’t go in. Some of them felt good, but it just didn’t go in. Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”

What’s this season been like for you overall with joining the Warriors and getting a significant rotation role?

Waters: “You know that the organization wants me here and am willing to throw me out there in the fire to see how I perform. There is a locker room full of guys that just want to win. It’s amazing. It’s all been just on the fly, honestly. It’s been a lot of moving parts and a lot of logistical things. But the organization, they take care of me. So they really just help me focus on basketball.”

How have they taken care of you so far?

Waters: “Just like with the moving process and logistical things. It’s a bigger city. I’m used to Oklahoma City. We don’t have any traffic. With the traveling stuff, anything I need to help make my life easier, they’ll take care of me.”

Have you figured out how to get around the Bay Bridge and use BART?

Waters: “I try not to go out there too much because it gets too crowded. But it’s a beautiful place.”

What have you enjoyed about the Bay so far?

Waters: “I would say the views, honestly. That’s the best part for me – being next to the water and going to the beach a little bit and going up to Vista Point by the Bridge. The food is great. The vibe of the city is awesome. You know that the fans are amazing. I get the love everywhere we go. They love the Warriors.”

What food spots have you liked so far?

Waters: “Chotto Motte,’ ‘Original Joe’s,’ those two are my main spots. I would also say ‘Scoma’s by Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s right by the water. You can walk the pier and be out and see some seals. The food is amazing. The service is amazing. Same with ‘Chotto Motte.’ The vibe is great. ‘Original Joe’s’ is just classic Italian. It makes you feel at home.”

You made an impression at OKC and the Warriors traded for you for a reason. But what do you think you did to get yourself in a position where Steve is talking openly about having you as part of the rotation?

Waters: “Just continuing to work every single day. Whether I’m in the rotation or now, the work stays the same. Trying to stay consistent and bring the best value to the team as personally as I can. So my role can change night to night. I can be a playmaker one night, a shot-maker one night or a defensive player one night. My shot may not always fall. But I’m going to always play my hardest and give it my all.”

What does your work look like day-to-day?

Waters: “A lot of treatment on my body and a lot of court work with the coaches and a lot of film and a lot of skill development. I’m trying to make reads going downhill. Defensively, I’m learning little tactics I can use if I have bigger guys on me or quicker guys on me. I’m slowly picking the vets’ brains on things. I’m always trying to get better every single day.”

What are the little tactics that you’re learning?

Waters: “Whenever you’re facing a bigger guy down low, just trying to use my feet and try to out-strength them. That’s my best bet. I’m not the strongest or quickest guy. But I’ll stand in there and fight. But sometimes that can kill me. I’ll end up getting a foul. So I’m using my IQ to my advantage and trying to be in the best positions. I try to anticipate early and try to let it flow instead of thinking too much.”

How do you manage the current pressure of making the most of your opportunity and with the team fighting inconsistency in a competitive Western Conference?

Waters: “Just be aggressive and try to apply pressure on the offensive end and up the pressure on the defensive end. We started out the season great. We had been in a lull in the past couple of weeks. But we have been right there in a bunch of the games. A turnover here and a made shot there, next thing you know we won half of the games that we already lost.

So just trying to keep plugging along. The pressure might feel overwhelming at times. But then you got to realize it’s a marathon. We’re going all the way to April, May or June. We got a long way to go. There should be no reason why we allow the pressure to get to us right now.”

With what you have shown, what has Steve’s feedback been with what he likes and what he’s asking more from you?

Waters: “It’s been good. He’ll share his thoughts with you. He has that experience. He’s been around the greatest. He’s won championships of his own, both playing and coaching. I’m always open ears on what he has to offer. He just tells me to shoot that ball. So I’m cool with doing that.”

Before the game, Steve said he likes your overall game on both ends of the floor and said moving forward it’s just about getting more reps and gaining confidence from that. How do you view that?

Waters: “It’s just about staying ready to play. I’m staying ready on the days that we don’t play and try to get high intensity work in. I just have to be ready. Sometimes shots just don’t fall.”

What is the Steph Curry teammate experience like?

Waters: “It’s been pretty cool. It was nothing that I would ever imagine. He’s a great guy on and off the court. He works and uses his voice the right way. It’s just awesome just to get there and watch him every single day. He’s a funny dude. He’s real laid back at times. But he loves to win, and he’s really, really competitive.”

You knew Steph from afar and he influenced your game. But now that you’re in the thick of it, what are your favorite stories that capture both his laid-back vibes and competitiveness?

Waters: “Sometimes on the bus, the vets will be talking trash about their card game that they’re playing. They go at it forever. I think at some point it’s going to stop. But it never does. They are messing around. No matter what happens off the court, when we get on the court, he’s always ready to play. I always watch his warmup when he shoots and goes straight back shot-for-shot all the way back to halfcourt. Those are always fascinating to watch. He’s always in the zone. Sometimes, he has his hood on and he has tunnel vision. He doesn’t see anything else. I want to learn how to get to that focus.”

What’s the craziest shot you’ve seen him make?

Waters: “Probably this summer. A couple of weeks in when I was here, they were playing five-on-five pickup. He hit 12 different dribble moves with five seconds left, no shot clock, fading away and getting fouled from 28 feet. And he hit just nothing but net. It was insane. That’s when I realized this guy is really like this. I’ve seen him on TV. I’ve seen him play against us. But then he does his thing and throws it up there and it goes in. I thought, ‘This dude’s crazy.’

He never fails to impress me. He’s always hitting some kind of new trick shot and shooting over the backboard. He’s launching it from across the court and making it and banking it in. He’s always trying to do something crazy, and it always works for him.”

The team also talked about Steph addressing the group before walk-throughs ahead of the Christmas Day loss to the Lakers. What was his message?

Waters: “Just that we have to leave it all out there. We can’t let external forces dictate how we’re going to play. We have everything we need to win a basketball game. There’s no need to look outward. Everything we have is in-house, and we’ll figure it out together.”

How about with Draymond? What has that teammate experience been like given what he has meant to the organization?

Waters: “He’s a tough dude. I see all of the backlash he gets off the court. But he’s a great human. He just loves to compete and he loves to win. He’s also another guy that I’d follow and that I’d fight for.”

We’ve seen Draymond’s ups and downs throughout his career. But for you specifically, how has he given you that kind of positive impression?

Waters: “He uses his voice a lot. Anytime that we’re going through shootaround or walk-through and we’re going through it lackadaisically, he’ll jump on us. Or if we come in at halftime and there is something that needs to be cleaned up or any little thing that he sees, he’s not afraid to raise his voice a little bit and jump on a guy. Or jump on a group of guys or get us fired up and get us ready to play.”

What have you learned from him defensively?

Waters: “He can guard pretty much anybody. It’s always fascinating to watch him. Sometimes he gets the benefit of the doubt, and they don’t call a foul on him. But I’d rather have him on my team. He has that presence about him. Any time he is in the game, you always feel him. Or if you’re dribbling the ball against him, sometimes you will turn away.

Even if Draymond’s not guarding him heavily, the other player will just turn away because they can feel that presence. I know I did that a year or two ago when I was playing against him when he was playing on me. I felt that presence about him, I just swung the ball. When he’s out there, he has that. Everyone knows he’s rotating or he’s going to box you out. There is nothing easy in the game.”

What were the notable turning points for you during your college and early pro career in the G League?

Waters: “My junior year in college [at Oklahoma State] was a tough year. My junior and senior year, with all of the injuries we had. And then senior year, getting cut off by COVID. And then having no draft process in 2020. That two years really shaped me. Everything has been kind of smooth up until that point with step one, step two, step three. Then all of a sudden, there is a lull. Now I am just existing and feeling like I haven’t taken a step in a while. And I don’t know how to take that step. I’m learning that no matter if you’re taking that step or not, the work stays the same.

Every single day, you got to come in and work as if there is something in front of you, even if you don’t see it. Those two years were the biggest turning points for me. Then I’d probably say last year when I was going back and forth with the Blue in the G League with the Thunder and that playoff run. We won the G League championship. That was another turning point for me, and closed the chapter on those last three years with being with the Blue. It put a bow on top of that.”

What enabled you to stay disciplined with your work instead of feeling discouraged that your progress wasn’t happening as quickly as you would’ve liked?

Waters: “Having that presence and just being where my feet are. I’m also having that memory in 2020 and 2021 that there was nothing going on, but it was so chaotic. So I realized that even though I’m going back and forth with the Blue and going through all of these crazy travel schedules and my body is beat up and I’m tired and sore, I remembered where I was and how hard I worked to get here. I was just grateful. No matter how I felt, I was just present in the moment.”

How do you think that will shape the path you’re taking right now?

Waters: “It’ll keep me humble and not allow me to be entitled and make me feel like I deserve this and I deserve that. We all just get one shot at this thing called life. So I’m just enjoying every single moment, no matter if it’s failure or success. As much as I want to win, losing is a part of it. So being grateful for that as well.

I understand you’ve done work in the community in regards to your Native American heritage. What are the things you’ve done in the past and the things you want to do in the future?

Waters: “I started out doing camps and clinics locally. Then I started a foundation in 2021. I continued to do camps and clinics in different states in North Carolina and North Dakota. I’m hoping to expand those as well. I also understand that it’s not all about basketball. I’m opening up the mental aspect of it. I’m helping to open up traditional aspects with dancing, singing, basket weaving and teaching language or sports and activity. Any area of life that kids want to go, I want to help push them chase their dream. So just continuing to grow on that and get scholarships for kids to go off to college. That’s big. I’ve been doing basketball tournaments and big give aways for my schools that I went to growing up. I’m continuing to do that and try to branch out into different arears in the United States.”

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