The Golden State Warriors feel confident they made the right choice when selecting James Wiseman No. 2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. His towering presence has made a difference – albeit in spurts due to his lack of experience.
Wiseman is averaging 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in just over 20 minutes of playing time each night. He’s been moved to the bench recently, where his talents as a rim runner are more focused with the second unit. Here, Wiseman has looked even better, increasing each of his major statistics as the team has gone 3-1 since the lineup change.
Yet, we can’t help but wonder how Wiseman is stacking up against his peers. The 2020 NBA Draft class has surprised us all by being full of talented players despite being advertised as ‘weak.’ Let’s see how Wiseman stands compared to the other rookies.
James Wiseman looks like he was the right choice for the Golden State Warriors – but how is the rookie stacking up against his peers?
We’ll start with the surface level stuff. Where does Wiseman rank among rookies?
- Points (4th)
- Rebounds (1st)
- Assists (34th)
- Blocks (1st)
- Steals (26th)
Right off the bat, we shouldn’t be too surprised by any of these rankings. Wiseman is exactly who we thought he would be at this stage – a powerful paint presence who can grab boards and block shots. He’s finishing over 50.0 percent of his attempts from the field but isn’t offering much else on offense.
Wiseman isn’t a great playmaker though he does have fluid handles for a seven-footer. He places in the 55th percentile as a roll man, further showcasing that Wiseman is not a sound-decision maker yet.
This isn’t a major concern, however. Wiseman is playing with less experience than most rookies ever have, missing training camp and only appearing in three collegiate games before declaring for the draft.
While Wiseman isn’t filling the stat sheet like LaMelo Ball, scoring at a high-rate like Immanuel Quickley and Anthony Edwards, or dominating the game all-around like Tyrese Haliburton, he is serving his purpose for the Warriors.
Since moving to the bench, Wiseman is posting a Net Rating of plus 6.4 when he’s on the court. Unfortunately, the Dubs’ rating skyrockets to plus 14.5 when he’s on the sideline – but this could be more a result of the Warriors’ bench not being as strong as the starting lineup.
All indicators point towards Wiseman being a great pick for the Warriors. He isn’t as polished as his peers, but he is leading NBA.com’s most recent rookie ladder, and he very well could walk away with the Rookie of the Year Award.