Golden State Warriors: 3 Takeaways from James Wiseman’s rookie season

3. Wiseman has strong mobility/athleticism

We’ll start with the obvious. It was no secret heading into the 2020 NBA Draft that James Wiseman was a freak of nature athlete. His size and mobility made him an impressive prospect and we are happy to report these qualities have translated to the NBA.

It’s easy to forget how rare it was for a frontcourt player to handle the ball just a few years ago. Now, names like Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo have made this common practice.

However, few players are true seven-footers like Wiseman. Toss in 240 pounds of muscle and a 7’6″ wingspan to create a build that even NBA 2K won’t allow. At least, not with this level of athleticism.

Wiseman showed jaw-dropping agility at times throughout his rookie season. It’s always a great sign to see a center that can run like a gazelle and Wiseman does that with ease. His long strides and fluid movements in transition made him a tough player to stop.

The rookie converted 64.7 percent of his attempts in transition, clocking in 1.16 points per possession and ranking in the upper percentile of finishers. In general, finishing looks around the rim was his strong suit (duh), netting nearly 80 percent of his shots within three feet of the rim.

This was Wiseman’s natural talent entering the league and is one he will have to continue building on to be a long-term paint presence.