As the overall number 2 in the NBA draft, there are many expectations. Add to that the fact that the team you join is on the heels of a five-year series to dominate the NBA and advance to the finals in each of the seasons.
James Wiseman achieved the best of both worlds in that respect, as the Memphis product joined the Warriors after a 15-50 season that followed a five-year NBA superiority, with the big man expected to bridge would be between getting the Warriors. immediately back on top and to be a cornerstone for the future.
The Warriors could not retire with the top contenders between 2020 and 211 in the Western Conference, with Steph Curry in the series, as the absence of Klay Thompson is big again in the Bay.
It’s hard to say how much Wiseman has played a role in the Warriors’ 22-21 record so far this season. The rookie missed 14 of the 43 games as a sprained wrist sidelined him in February and ended up in the league’s health and safety records, keeping him out of the team’s last three games.
Bleacher Report NBA Draft Analyst Jonathan Wasserman rated ten of this season’s best crop of rookies “compared to their draft position”, and Wiseman’s debut campaign earned him a ‘B’ from Wasserman.
It sounds good at first, but it was also the lowest point he gave to one of the ten rookies on his list. Just two other rookies, Detroit Pistons wing Saddiq Bey and Cleveland Cavaliers winger Isaac Okoro, also got a B in Wasserman’s eyes.
LaMelo Ball, selected after Wiseman by the Charlotte Hornets, earned Wasserman the highest points with an A. Ball’s brilliant play ability put Charlotte in the playoffs in the East.
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It’s impossible to know which of this year’s rookie class will end up compiling the best NBA career, because no one on this list even has 50 career games in their hand professionally.
Wiseman scored 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in just 20.8 minutes per night. His per-36 numbers reflect some of the NBA’s best big men of their rookie season.
At 7-foot-1, Wiseman’s ceiling should be as a player as an elite skin protector, but he has sometimes struggled to work within an NBA defense. As Wasserman also noted, Wiseman has conceded three times since Feb. 23, averaging 3.2 errors per game and 5.6 over 36 minutes.
His limited university experience and absence from most of the Warriors training camp due to illness, probably played a role in his fight against the defense. Wiseman is still ten days after his twentieth birthday, and he also missed the chance to compete in the Summer League and other development work last season due to COVID-19.
There are definitely areas where Wiseman could be better, but even if he had gotten more polished in the league, it would not have made a dramatic difference to the Warriors record. Outside of Curry, the offense was inconsistent throughout the season as a whole.
He will not be a rookie of the year, but as soon as Thompson returns and Wiseman gets a full season to study film and increase his shortcomings on the defensive side, we should see significant improvement from him, as well as more success from the Warriors as a whole.
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