Through the seemingly limitless power of social media, a player’s legacy has become a hot topic in sports. From certified all-timers, down to the most random role players, everyone has an opinion. 

The same goes for Washington Wizard and former Golden State Warrior Jordan Poole. He has been hit with hit with a lot of things over the past year or so—literally and figuratively—but consider him unbothered, because his legacy, as he says, has been “taken care of.”

Here’s what he said while speaking with Logan Murdock of The Ringer:

“Playing the game I love at the highest level, my family is taken care of, my basketball legacy is taken care of with the [2022 championship] ring … This is probably the first time in my life I’ll play basketball with no pressure. So that’s kind of how you look at it. But it’s a really good opportunity. It’s a cool opportunity, dope opportunity.”

Of course, all that this is in reference to his championship win with the Warriors and his premature exit from the team this off-season, stemming from ‘the punch,’ hence the “literally” mentioned above.

Legacy being “taken care of” might sound a bit much given how he’s only played for four seasons, but the 24-year-old did his thing for the Dubs. He’s a quick guard with nice handles that can score in bunches and keep up with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s shooting prowess, so much so that he was once seen as an heir apparent to Curry.

Poole’s legacy, at least for now, is he looked like a legit third Splash Brother for about two seasons, which is high praise). The incident with Green will be there, unfortunately, and it will feel tough. However, no one can take that championship away from him.

The road ahead with the Wizards

Whatever you may feel about the Wizards, it’s also somewhat true that Poole is in a good opportunity. While he’s entering a team that’s bound for yet another lottery year, and may very well be irrelevant for almost the entire season, Poole is coming in as a primary option and will have free reign to produce and showcase how good he can be as a clear-cut go-to scorer. With longtime franchise man Bradley Beal out, and Kristaps Porzingis being shipped to Boston, he and Kyle Kuzma are now the squad’s duo. Doubts about a winning 2023-24 campaign are probably accurate, but all in all, we can expect him to get something out of it.

This week, fans got a solid preview of the Jordan Poole experience in preseason. First, he lit up the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden with 41 points, 29 of which came in the first half.

It was tied for most points scored by any Wizard in the preseason since 2000. The other guy who did it? None other than His Airness, Michael Jordan. 

Then, the very next game, with everyone hyped for another ‘Poole Party,’ the hotshot shooting guard dried out. He was clamped by OG Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors, who held him to just seven points on an ugly 1-for-15 shooting.

The good and the bad will be there, especially for a young guard trusted into a larger role. If Poole is really settled about his legacy, though, and will thus play more relaxed than ever, it can go every which way. Will we see him rest on his laurels and regress or be even more explosive in scoring because he has nothing to worry about?