The Golden State Warriors may be without James Wiseman for the remainder of the season. The former No. 2 overall pick tore his meniscus and could be sidelined as both the severity and his age will play an impact on his recovery.
Wiseman was initially the starting center, relegated to the bench after Looney was clearly the better fit, and then placed again as a starter. That basically defines most parts of Wiseman’s up-and-down rookie season, one that should go down as a successful first year for the 20-year-old.
The Golden State Warriors may not have seen elite upside from James Wiseman too often, but if this is it for him as a rookie, it was a successful season.
For starters, before getting into Wiseman, knowing that Wiseman is out, the Warriors should immediately look to add a player like Thon Maker. Jordan Bell recently signed with the Wizards, taking another potential big off the market.
As for Wiseman, he’ll likely be out the rest of the season, a brutal blow for the Dubs. Given the Warriors’ luck with injuries over the last few seasons, there doesn’t seem to be much of a rush to get him back on the court.
If this is it for his season, was it successful? Some could say no, and there’s a case for that. Despite many eyes look at LaMelo Ball who was drafted after Wiseman, there’s no denying that Wiseman showed what he’s capable of.
As a rookie, Wiseman averaged 11.5 points per game. Among rookies, that is currently the fifth-best. He also notched 5.8 rebounds per game which would be third-best among newcomers. Wiseman’s 36 blocks ranked third-best as well.
He also ranked in the top-five in field goals made, offensive rebounds, and personal fouls. That last one is what really hampered the Warriors at times. Although he only averaged 21.4 minutes per game, Wiseman notched 3.1 fouls in that time.
That’s going to be a problem moving forward.
That and his rusty defensive instincts will both need to be worked on this offseason, but Wiseman did do quite a bit of good on both ends of the court. He showed off his wingspan on multiple massive alley-oop slams.
He also was a terrific rim protector as well, something the Warriors haven’t had much of these past few seasons. Both of those are how Wiseman can physically dominate a game, and that’s something his rookie season left fans craving more of.
Oddly, Wiseman also hit .3 triples per game. While it’s not much, seeing him have that confidence should be a plus. Hopefully, he can get more consistent on that end, but it didn’t kill hit percentages as he still managed to hit 51.9 percent of his shots from the field.
Combine all his numbers, and they weren’t the most impressive. It’d be incredibly shocking if he finished in even the top-three for Rookie of the Year voting, but he showed enough to give the Warriors hope for his future.
For now, that’s all anyone can ask for from the young man that just exited his teenage years.