Gui Santos shared his emotions after receiving a three-year contract on Saturday, following the Golden State Warriors’ 129-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center.
“Man, there’s a lot of things that comes in my mind when you know, like you see your work, like get rewarded, you know,” Santos said. “It was a lot of work since I got here through the G League, you know, even before playing in Brazil. … Especially when, you know there’s the basketball, you know, be a part of the Warriors, play with Steph and all that but one thing that really important for me is like my family.”
The 23-year-old Brazilian guard led Golden State with 14 points, marking his fifth straight double-digit outing and 12th in the last 13 games. Santos emphasized the significance of guaranteed long-term security in his decision.
“Right now, when they, you know, offer me the deal … I love the Warriors. I love the organization. I love the people here,” he said. “All the strength coaches, all the coaches, all the physiotherapists, all the players and everybody … it’s so special for me and just be able to be here for more three years, you know, and you get, like I said, like my family in a good spot and also just be around like guys like Steph and Draymond uh like Jimmy, you know, it’s a special feeling.”
Santos described his family’s reaction with humor. “They were very excited, emotional, you know, more than everybody. I was kind of serious like, dad, mom, I got her something like serious to talk to you guys and they thought that I got my fiance pregnant [laughter]. No, I got the extension and all of them was emotional and happy.”
Reflecting on his journey, Santos highlighted his path as an example for Brazilian players aiming for the NBA. “I’m like the biggest example when you look to the basketball and NBA that is the biggest level that you can get. … Just trying to be a great guy, trying to show that the work ethic is the most important thing, you know, because that was what got me here in this position.”
Santos also addressed the young players on the team. “I can say that we doing that a little bit, you know, … We creating something right now. So, you know, in the future, we all want to play together, but at the same time, we still having Steph, Draymond, we still having Jimmy. So that’s a big squad that we got to respect everything they have done in the league and with the Warriors.”
On the court, Santos reflected on the game against Los Angeles. “I would not say the energy but our effort on defense … when you got to guard Luka, LeBron, you know these guys are really tough to guard and when you don’t really really do your best effort on defense, it’s really tough to win a game like that.”
The Warriors will host the LA Clippers on Monday, aiming to regroup with key players returning.
