4 days Ago By Sahil Kurup
The NBA has no shortage of mantras — "next man up," "stay ready," " trust the process " — but Golden State Warriors ’ Moses Moody carries one that cuts a little deeper. "A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor." It’s the kind of phrase that sticks in your mind, the kind you might find scrawled on a motivational poster or tacked onto the wall of a coach’s office.
For Moody, it came from home — from his father, who repeated it enough times that it became more than just a quote. It became a mindset. “My dad used to tell me that all the time when I was younger,” Moody told Mirror U.
S. Sports . “It’s really just using adversity.
Bad situations are only bad if you let them be. If you can get something good out of it, it’s perspective that I think is the biggest key.” That perspective has helped Moody navigate the often stormy waters of his young NBA career.
Drafted with the 14th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft , Moody arrived in Golden State with poise beyond his years, but even the most composed rookies can get rocked by the waves of inconsistent playing time and shifting roles. His first three seasons were marked by flashes of brilliance — sharp shooting, perimeter defense, and high IQ play — but also long stints on the bench. He found himself in and out of the rotation, sometimes a trusted closer, other times left to learn from the sideline.
On a team full of championship veterans and title expectations, Moody was a young sailor aboard a massive ship already charting its course. And yet, he stayed steady. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has often praised Moody’s professionalism, even noting publicly that the 22-year-old once shared that quote — a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor — with him.
It’s easy to see why it stuck with Kerr. It embodies exactly what the Warriors ask of their young players: to stay prepared, to embrace the grind, and to grow from every challenge. Now, in his fourth season, Moody has started to earn consistent minutes — especially following the Jimmy Butler trade that reshaped Golden State’s rotation.
He’s become a regular starter, averaging 25.9 minutes in April and shooting a career-high 37.4 percent from three.
But even now, as his role solidifies, he doesn’t lose sight of the journey. Those early stretches of uncertainty, the nights when he played five minutes or didn’t play at all, weren’t wasted. They were part of the process.
Now, as the Warriors prepare to face the Memphis Grizzlies in Wednesday's pivotal play-in game at Chase Center, Moody's evolution into a reliable 3-and-D contributor has become a cornerstone of Golden State's lineup, filling a critical role the Warriors have long sought to pair alongside Curry and Green. In a league where pressure is constant and opportunity can vanish in an instant, Moody’s calm, measured approach sets him apart. He doesn't chase the spotlight — he earns it, possession by possession.
And whether the seas are smooth or stormy, he’s not rattled. He’s just sailing..
