Getty Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman handles the ball during a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
After a weeklong break, the Golden State Warriors‘ Santa Cruz-based G League affiliate finally returned to the hardwood on Friday night for a road bout with the Stockton Kings. Clearly, the break and the extra practice time that it yielded paid dividends for James Wiseman.
The former No. 2 overall pick has been up and down throughout his developmental assignment, making highlight plays and putting up some numbers, but he hasn’t been the man among boys Dub Nation had hoped to see.
That all changed against the Kings, however, as Wiseman scored 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting while adding 13 boards, two blocks and a steal. Meanwhile, he cleaned up some things that have been points of concern throughout the 2022-23 campaign.
Specifically, he committed just a single foul and only turned the ball over once during his 27 minutes on the floor. And while his plus/minus score was still on the wrong side of zero, that had more to do with what his teammates were doing on this particular occasion. Bottom line — progress is being made.
The More Reps, the Better for Wiseman
When the Warriors first sent their blue-chipper to the Sea Dubs, head coach Steve Kerr made it clear that the assignment wasn’t going to be a one-and-done situation. His draft status notwithstanding, Wiseman’s stay would be an “extended” one. And, sure enough, we’re now in week three of the 21-year-old’s run.
It’s definitely not the script anyone would have written for him entering the campaign, but it’s probably the right move for Wiseman’s growth.
“It’s great experience and this is what it’s about,” Kerr told reporters more recently, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s trying to get these young guys as many reps as possible. That’s what James needs right now and what Ryan [Rollins] and Patrick [Baldwin Jr.] need, so that’s the whole idea.”
Kerr is firmly of the belief that those reps, the growing pains that come along with them and the angst of not having him with the main roster could pay off in a major way down the road.
“He’s right where he needs to be. And all these reps, night after night, are so much more important than him being here and not playing as much. So I still look at this, we all do, as long term, and we feel really, really positive about his development.”
Wiseman Is Still at a Huge Experience Deficit
The hype surrounding Wiseman and his hardwood future has been enormous dating back to before his high-school days. It has been written about a lot at this point, but it bears repeating here that Dubs owner Joe Lacob went so far as to label him a “once-in-a-decade” talent akin to Sixers star Joel Embiid.
Time will tell whether or not that proves to be the case. In any event, Wiseman probably has a long climb to make before we have an inkling one way or the other. Sure, he’s in his third professional season at this point, but he hardly has the experience of a third-year guy.
As a result of the meniscus tear he suffered during his rookie season — an injury that cost him his whole 2021-22 season — Wiseman has only appeared in 50 NBA games as of this writing. And that’s after he played in all of three games as a collegiate at Memphis.
Consequently, Wiseman still has a lot of growing up to do as a player and, right now, the G League is the best place for that to happen.