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Moses Moody wasn’t cleared for basketball activities until July, but that didn’t stop him from finding pickup runs. 

The only snag was, with a surgically repaired UCL in his right thumb, he could only play left-handed. 

“I grew up playing ball, so when I was going through the surgery rehab — don’t tell Rick (Celebrini) — but I was out there playing left-handed at the park. Whoever was out there, I’d go play,” Moody said. 

In Atlanta visiting family and back home in Little Rock, at the Kanis Park court where he grew up playing, Moody couldn’t wait to fully heal to get runs in. He tucked his shooting hand in a brace and did everything with his left.

Everything. 

“He only played with one hand!” said Marcel Hudson, a 22-year-old hooper from Atlanta who played against Moody that day. “Like, literally only played with one hand the entire time. He had the right hand kind of tucked, he didn’t use his right hand. He was crossing over with the left, catching it with the left, shooting it with the left — it’s crazy how deep their skill-set is. Because he was still like a big part for the teams he was playing on, like even with one hand he was still making shots. It was crazy to see.” 

When Moody pulled up to the court, one guy was convinced he was an NBA player. “Is that Moses Moody?” After playing it cool for a bit, Moody eventually came clean. 

Always thoughtful but more soft-spoken than bombastic, Moody sharing such a colorful story at the podium in front of reporters is a sign of how comfortable he is entering his fifth NBA season. That might’ve been the first time fans on social media heard his Kawhi Leonard-esque laugh. 

He’s relaxed for good reason. The Warriors wing thrived next to Jimmy Butler toward the end of last season, which became the longest stretch of a steady role in Moody’s career. He’s a candidate to start in that same lineup — next to Butler, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Brandin Podziemski — and carry the momentum he started to build before the thumb injury.

“Yeah, I think that comes with age, growing up a little bit,” Moody said of his mindset. “Not trying to sound like a super vet, an OG or nothing in the game. But I guess it’s just the comfort that you can control whatever you can, and what you can’t control. I think that’s comforting. And then just trusting the work I put in this summer.” 

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr thinks players should spend more time in the offseason playing pickup instead of doing individual work, which has become the norm in today’s hyper-skilled league. It’s a decision-making sport, and the only way to improve is to actually play. 

Moody concurs. Even when he had to do everything in daily life with only his left hand — the one thing he never could figure out was eating with chopsticks — the 23-year-old wing sought out games.

He remembers the Atlanta game vividly. Looking at a picture Hudson posted, he pointed out a player who got buckets — “He was nice,” Moody said. 

Hudson grew up playing football and had never shared the court with an NBA player before. That didn’t stop him from talking trash to Moody. 

“Any time he shot I’m like, ‘That’s off, you can’t make that, that’s not your bag,’” Hudson recalled. 

Moody’s thumb injury severely impacted his game last year. He suffered it on March 18 against Milwaukee, but continued playing as the Warriors raced toward the playoffs. In the 20 games before the injury, he shot 47% from the field and 39.8% from deep. Afterward, those numbers dipped to 37.2% and 30.3%. 

Moody’s offensive struggles continued into the postseason. He couldn’t palm the ball and his thumb hurt every time he caught a pass. Hand-checks were uncomfortable and he could only shoot with four fingers. 

Once Moody was cleared for basketball activities this summer, he reincorporated his thumb into his jumper. The first results were spectacular; in Golden State’s preseason opener, he shot 7-for-9 for a game-high 19 points, sinking five of his seven 3-pointers. 

What’s perhaps more important than Moody’s outside jumper is his defense. Last year’s small-ball lineup with Green at center and Moody as the point-of-attack defender helped the Warriors surge into the playoffs by outscoring opponents by 18.7 points per 100 possessions. 

Moody’s wingspan and athleticism make him the Warriors’ best option at picking up ballhandlers far from the basket besides Gary Payton II. With more experience, he got smarter about when to swipe at the ball for steals, too. He likened the cat-and-mouse game of on-ball defense to wrestling, which he loved to do growing up with his brother and older cousins. There’s a rhythm to moving your feet to stay in front of a ballhandler while using your arms to disrupt dribbles. 

“I think that’s a big part of what got me on the floor consistently,” Moody said. “So if that’s what got me there, I’ve got to keep doing it. Over the summer, I got better at different stuff, too. Being able to have a better idea of what this team needs me to be.” 

Pat Spencer, Golden State’s backup point guard, often plays against Moody during scrimmages and has witnessed his evolution as a defender.

“Mo works on everything that you see him do out there,” Spencer said. “People ask a lot about Steph as far as, ‘What do you admire?’ I admire that he practices the way he plays. Mo is no different. He’s one of those guys who’s OCD in a great way. When he gets his mindset on trying to figure something out, you’ll see him in that gym, down in that dungeon, hour after hour getting it done. You root for a guy like that.” 

Kerr has always been impressed with Moody’s maturity. The guard’s role has been up and down in his first four seasons, but he has never complained. The coach has likened Moody’s temperament to that of Kevon Looney, the Warriors’ longtime “moral compass.” 

Moody’s role entering the season is as cemented as it has ever been. He knows that doesn’t mean it’s concrete. He has an idea of where on the floor his shots are going to come, the types of reads he’ll need to make, and how to impact the game defensively. 

The second half of last season was proof of concept. Might this be the year he takes a step up from it? 

“We’ll see,” Moody said. “I’m going to build as much as I can and then look up and see what I’ve built.”