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James Wiseman has proved himself to the Golden State Warriors.
Per Anthony Slater on Twitter, the Warriors will start James Wiseman at the center position tonight against the Brooklyn Nets. The No. 2 overall draft pick will play his very first NBA career game as a starter. This coming after Warriors’ star Draymond Green was ruled out tonight due to an injury to his right foot suffered in a scrimmage game on Saturday.
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Wiseman Makes His Debut
Wiseman missed the entire preseason after testing positive for COVID-19 and following the league’s virus protocols which had him miss the beginning of training camp as well.
Head coach Steve Kerr obviously saw all he needed to see during the past week of scrimmages in order to have the rookie starting right out of the gate. The other two candidates for this starting position would be Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall.
Wiseman only played in three games during his collegiate career at Memphis University.
Steve Kerr Is Confident in Wiseman
Kerr mentioned to reporters in an interview on Monday, per Drew Shiller on Twitter, that the team’s No. 2 overall draft pick will be playing in the season opener but did not specify if Wiseman was starting. Kerr did express some confidence in Wiseman telling reporters via the Warriors’ SoundCloud that he was the team’s “long-term starting center” and that there is a possibility that he could start against the Nets.
This possibility has come true as the rookie will be “thrown into the fire” as he debuts against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at Barclays Center tonight. Wiseman will start alongside teammates Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Eric Paschall
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