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Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts with Gui Santos #15 after a three-point shot against the LA Clippers to go up 120-117 in the second half of an NBA play-in tournament game at Intuit Dome on April 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California.
Former NBA 3-Point Contest winner Tim Legler believes Gui Santos has all the tools to become a long-term starter for the Golden State Warriors.
While reacting to Santos’ breakout performance against the LA Clippers in the first play-in game, Legler broke down why the Brazilian had a bright future ahead of him.
“He can handle it, pass, shoot. He’s athletic,” Legler said of the 23-year-old Santos on the “All-NBA Podcast,” via X account Chef.
“He defends with a conscience. He’s always smiling, like he’s just one of those guys you kind of pull for, and it’s gone from that to like ‘Okay, this is a really cool story. They got guys out and now he’s got a chance and he has jumped on it.'”
As Legler alluded to, Santos, the Warriors’ 2022 second-round pick, has gradually blossomed into an NBA-caliber rotational player after years in the G League.
“We did a feature when he called up his parents when the Warriors finally gave him a guaranteed contract this year, and like the tears on the phone, just taking us through that, just an incredible human side to it, but forget all that, man, the guy can play.
“Now I’m watching this guy and I’m going ‘Gui Santos is a PLAYER’. He’s a legitimate player to play heavy rotational minutes for a good team,” added Legler.
Tim Legler (@LegsESPN) gives high praise to Gui Santos:
“I want to talk about Gui Santos because we’ve had the Warriors a lot this year and most of those games didn’t have Jimmy Butler or Steph Curry. That’s a tough thing to watch offensively and Porzingis wasn’t there yet. So
Santos is expected to remain in the starting lineup for Friday night’s win-or-go-home game against the Phoenix Suns — and for good reason. He had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win against the Clippers, and was a team-high +16 on the floor.
Over his last eight games — including Wednesday’s play-in win — Santos has averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals while making 1.5 threes per game. Legler praised the youngster for seizing his opportunity late in the regular season when the Warriors were missing several key starters due to injuries.
“He’s getting an opportunity because they’ve had all these injuries and he just starts playing great, like really impactful both ends,” Legler said of Santos.
While Santos and the Warriors beat the Suns 3-1 in the regular-season series, they enter Friday’s play-in game as +130 underdogs on the road. The stage may be set for another Stephen Curry masterpiece after the two-time MVP produced a vintage clutch performance in Wednesday’s play-in win against the Clippers.
The winner of the Warriors vs. Suns play-in game will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided's Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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