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James Wiseman is learning from one of the wisest.
The Golden State Warriors center is still awaiting the start of his second season in the NBA as he rehabs from a knee injury that cut short his rookie season, but has been spending his time picking up some pointers from a veteran teammate. Andre Iguodala, now in his second stint with the Warriors, has reportedly been working closely with the 20-year-old center and said this week that he’s helping his young teammate learn the ropes.
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Wiseman’s Veteran Teacher
As his rehab has stretched into the second half of the season, Wiseman has been spending his time improving his agility and endurance while also working with some veteran teammates. As Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area noted, Wiseman initially worked closely with Klay Thompson as both were working their way back from significant injuries, but now has another injured teammate as a mentor in Iguodala.
While he has missed time with a knee injury, Iguodala has had a chance to work side-by-side with Wiseman and help him address some of his flaws.
“Well, I know he wants to be out there,” Iguodala said. “He’s grinding. He’s on the court now. It’s good to see. The more I get to see him, obviously, the more I’m finding flaws. That’s the type of guy I am. Finding a flaw and trying to fix it. Even yesterday, he and I were working out together and I saw a few flaws and I’ll be sure to start keying in on that. You get to this level and there’s not as much emphasis on the small things because historically they assume you have it already instilled in your game coming from college, and you got two or three years of tutelage and you got the fundamentals.”
Wiseman Faces Uncertainty
It’s not clear when Wiseman could finally return to the court. Initial projections indicated he could be back around the same time as Thompson around the start of the calendar year, but Wiseman’s rehab has instead stretched beyond January with no clear end in sight.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in an interview on KNBR last week that there is no blueprint for Wiseman’s return because he faces such a unique set of circumstances. Kerr expressed some sympathy for Wiseman, who has had a rocky start to his NBA career. Wiseman suffered a COVID-19 infection that cut short his first training camp with the team, and missed again this season as he was rehabbing from knee surgery.
Wiseman has yet to progress to the final stages of contact, but the team’s front office has expressed confidence that he will be able to make it over the hump and Kerr said he’s working hard toward a return.
“We thought he would be back by now. I just feel so bad for James,” Kerr said. “He is working every day. He is keeping a really good, positive spirit about him. But we want so badly for him to get his career started and off the ground. The poor guy is dealing with the injury, with the knee, and we just don’t know when he is going to turn the corner.”
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