After being selected by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 2 overall pick in November’s 2020 NBA draft, James Wiseman had to miss the start of training camp in the Bay Area due to reportedly testing positive for COVID-19.
Following five practices and one preseason game on the sideline, the Memphis product made his highly-anticipated debut at Golden State’s training camp on Monday.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic shared a clip on Twitter with highlights from Wiseman’s group workout with the Warriors. The 1:17 video displayed Wiseman leading a fastbreak, catching a lob from Draymond Green and chatting with Steph Curry.
Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:
Here's a good video look into James Wiseman's debut practice for the Warriors pic.twitter.com/LPGDHOWgzl
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 15, 2020
After only playing three games for Penny Hardaway at Memphis, every minute of Wiseman’s time on the practice floor is crucial for the Golden State rookie. At Memphis, Wiseman averaged 19.7 points on 76.9% shooting from the field with 10.7 rebounds and three blocks per contest. Although it was a short stint, the five-star recruit notched a double-double performance in each of his college games.
Wiseman will have only a limited amount of practices remaining to learn Steve Kerr’s system while trying to build a report with Curry, Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. How quickly the former McDonald’s All-American translates his potential into production should have an impact on Golden State’s run back to the postseason.
Despite his return to the practice floor, Wiseman won’t be in the lineup for Golden State’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. With Wiseman and Green out, Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall joined the starting lineup against the Denver Nuggets.
If the Warriors rule him out for their final preseason tilt on Thursday, the 19-year-old could potentially make his debut on opening night against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
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