We are in the second night of a back-to-back in San Antonio, body still aching from the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship-caliber beatdown 24 hours earlier. The Spurs are executing like a finely-tuned
machine, threatening to blow the doors off a Warriors team that had every excuse to fold. Victor Wembanyama is towering over everyone like a science experiment gone right, and the Warriors are on the brink.
And there’s Moses Moody, pure as Sunday morning, knocking down catch-and-shoot threes like he’s been doing this his whole life.
Five-for-ten from deep. Nineteen points. The lifeline.
This is what development looks like when it finally clicks. Not the guy dribbling into contested mid-range jumpers. Not the rotational piece you’re hoping finds his footing someday. This is a bonafide catch-and-shoot specialist who kept the Warriors alive when the game threatened to get ugly early. Even Shawn Elliott, Spurs legend and pure shooter in his own right, couldn’t help himself on the broadcast: “He’s got a really pure shot.”
When a Hall of Fame-caliber sniper notices your stroke, you’re doing something right.
The numbers tell the story of Moody’s transformation into exactly what this Warriors team needs. When he catches and shoots with zero dribbles, he’s connecting on 48.3 percent from three this season. That’s elite. That’s Klay Thompson-lite territory. When defenders give him space, 4-6 feet of breathing room, he’s absolutely lethal at 58.6 percent from distance. And when the ball touches his hands for less than two seconds? He’s knocking down 46.9 percent of those quick-trigger attempts.
This is no-agenda basketball. This is sacrificial, system-oriented execution. This is exactly what the Warriors have been missing since Klay’s prime years slipped away.
What makes Moody’s performance in San Antonio so significant isn’t just the shooting percentages or the 19 points. It’s the context. The Warriors were gassed, playing their second game in as many nights after getting worked by the best team in the league. They were on the road, where they’ve struggled all season. The Spurs’ crowd was hostile, their young core was buzzing with confidence, and Golden State had every reason to mail it in and chalk this up as a scheduled loss.
Moody didn’t let that happen. He kept them breathing. He gave Stephen Curry and the veterans a foundation to build on before that nuclear third quarter explosion. You need guys like that. Guys who show up when the circumstances are stacked against you. Guys who don’t need the ball in their hands for eight seconds to be effective. Guys who understand their role and execute it with precision.
The Warriors finally have another perimeter weapon they can trust when the game hangs in the balance on a hostile road floor. Moses Moody isn’t holding this team back folks; he’s becoming part of the solution. And that pure stroke? It’s keeping championship windows open just a little bit longer.
