James Wiseman makes explosive return at Summer League

If the Golden State Warriors painted a picture envisaging James Wiseman’s opening minutes in his return, then it sure percolated into a beautiful reality.

After winning the opening tip, Wiseman punctuated his return with an alley-oop dunk off a nice feed from fellow recent lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga.

Having barely played since suffering a torn meniscus in April 2021, James Wiseman made an impressive return in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The seven-footer followed up his thunderous dunk with an off-the-dribble three just moments later. He also hit a tough fadeaway mid-range jump shot in the second quarter.

But for all the explosive offensive highlights, it was the defensive improvements that would have most pleased Golden State’s coaching staff. He began with blocking a jump shot on the Spurs’ first offensive possession, then completely erasing another layup attempt later in the first period.

Wiseman’s defense was much more than the highlight blocks though. Aside from fouling on a three-point attempt, the former number two overall pick provided the sort of interior presence you’d expect from a player his size during the first half.

Things got more difficult for him in the second half. His teammates’ inability to get him the ball left him visibly frustrated, while there would have undoubtedly been an element of fatigue in his first game back.

He began racking up a series of fouls, bringing back visions of the frustrating plays that occurred often during his rookie season. Wiseman was ultimately fortunate that Summer League rules allow ten personal fouls, having racked up a total of seven in his near 20 minutes.

His first field goal attempt of the second half didn’t come until a few minutes into the fourth, knocking down a nice face-up mid-range shot from the elbow.

It was certainly a mixed bag, quite understandably given his time out of the game. Wiseman finished with 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 from the field, but the prevalent foul issues remain a concern while he also only had two rebounds.

The performances don’t mean a whole lot at this stage though. The most important aspect is him being back out there, looking like the ultra-talented, uber-athletic player that warranted being a number two overall pick.

A side-piece to Wiseman’s return, the game itself evolved into quite the contest. Golden State battled back from 17 points down to claim a thrilling 86-85 win.