Warriors: James Wiseman poised to be all-time great rookie

The Golden State Warriors struck gold on James Wiseman who is in a perfect position to have an all-time great rookie season.

Few rookies enter the NBA with more opportunities than James Wiseman. He is joining a title-contending team straight from the jump – ready to play a vital role for the Golden State Warriors as their most dominant paint presence. If he capitalizes on the abundance of paths to success, Wiseman can have an all-time great rookie season.

Look at it from this perspective: The Warriors only need Wiseman to play to his greatest strengths as a shot-blocker and rebounder. He won’t be asked to do much more than clean up on defense and finish shots around the rim on offense. As a freakish athlete with a humongous wingspan – these are things Wiseman can do in his sleep.

It’s very possible that we see Wiseman average a clean double-double on strong efficiency en route to a championship in his first season. Obviously, much of the team’s success relies on how far Stephen Curry and Draymond Green can lead this group of rag-tag NBA players, but a title in his first season bodes wells for Wiseman regardless of whether or not he was the primary driving force behind their success.

At the least, Wiseman will fill in the role of JaVale McGee and Andrew Bogut – only with increased athleticism and shot-blocking ability. Wiseman’s potential is limitless and if he manages to develop any type of jump shot this season… it’s game over for the rest of the league.

To be clear, I’m not saying Wiseman is going to be an all-time great rookie. Rather, he is poised to have a historic rookie campaign on a competitive team that will play him to his strongest attributes. The Warriors have a chance to have the greatest single-season bounce back of all-time. Wiseman can take full advantage of this system and etch himself into the history books as a hyper-efficient contributor to a championship-caliber team.

I’m not saying Wiseman is a lock to win Rookie of the Year, but we should acknowledge the fact that he is capable of putting up impressive numbers on a team that could be competing for a top seed in the West. If all goes well, he can finish his rookie campaign with accolades that few other players have achieved in their first season.