After playing just five NBA games in the last two seasons, former second overall pick James Wiseman has earned a roster spot to start the 2026-27 campaign.
Wiseman, who began his career with the Golden State Warriors, has been hampered by injuries since the beginning. He missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a knee injury suffered in his first year in Golden State.
In the first game of the 2024-25 season, Wiseman tore his left Achilles tendon in his debut for the Indiana Pacers.
New York Knicks Retain James Wiseman
The defending NBA champions New York Knicks brought in multiple NBA veterans before training camp, including James Wiseman, Bruce Brown Jr., Tony Bradley, Drew Eubanks and John Konchar.
Wiseman wasn’t heavily favored to make the roster, but in a surprising turn of events, the Knicks parted ways with Brown, Bradley, Eubanks and Konchar. The former No.2 pick earned a roster spot for the Knicks as a third-string center behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, as reported by ESPN.
It probably helped that Eubanks suffered a pectoral injury, while Brown played the same position as other important Knicks role players like Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado.
In four preseason games, Wiseman averaged 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds. His best game was against the Toronto Raptors, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting from the field.
Mike Brown Explains James Wiseman Decision
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown revealed that the final roster spot came down to James Wiseman and Bruce Brown Jr.
Brown explained why he decided to keep Wiseman over Brown. He had nothing but praise for Brown, but Wiseman’s age, length and athleticism were too hard to pass up.
“When you have a guy that’s 25 years old, that has the length and the athleticism and the talent as a James Wiseman, because KAT’s not athletic like that and Andre was once that, he still has some of it, but to have that at 25 years old, especially with where we’re at as a group, you look for guys that coulda shoulda, but at his age maybe he still can be a coulda shoulda,” Brown said via Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. “That vertical threat at the rim, the vertical threat defensively, how good he runs, you welcome that at his size and age and athleticism.”
It might not have been a huge factor, but Brown was the associate head coach for the Golden State Warriors during Wiseman’s first two seasons in the Bay Area.
Former Golden State Warriors No. 2 Pick Earns Roster Spot Ahead of Opening Night