With the No. 2 overall selection in the 2020 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors landed Memphis product James Wiseman. After earning a starting role in the Warriors’ frontcourt to start the season, Wiseman’s rookie campaign came to an end after only 39 games.
Wiseman suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee during a contest against the Houston Rockets. In April, the 19-year-old later had surgery on his knee, ending his first season in the association.
With the start of the NBA’s 2021 training camp looming, the Warriors provided an update on Wiseman’s injury status on Monday. According to the Warriors, Wiseman is “good progress” during his meniscus rehab.
During training camp, Wiseman is expected to participate in individual shooting and other individual on-court activities. Wiseman is scheduled to start fully jumping on Oct. 15.
Via @warriors on Twitter:
James Wiseman, who underwent successful surgery to repair a right meniscal tear on April 15, has made good progress during rehabilitation over the course of the summer and is on pace to return for the 2021-22 season. pic.twitter.com/E4dGuc7o1U
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) September 20, 2021
James is expected to participate in individual shooting and other individual on-court activities during training camp. His return to full practices will be determined at a later date (after October 15).
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) September 20, 2021
If Wiseman doesn’t return to full practices and won’t begin the jumping stage of his rehab till Oct. 15, he will likely be out for all of Golden State’s preseason slate and the start of the regular season. The Warriors will open their 2021-22 campaign on Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Lakers — just four days after Wiseman is expected to begin fully jumping.
With Wiseman’s injury likely lingering into the start of the regular season, the Warriors will have a thin frontcourt rotation. With Wiseman out, the Warriors will need to lean on Kevon Looney, Draymond Green, Nemanja Bjelica and Juan Toscano-Anderson for minutes at power forward and center.
During his rookie season in Golden State, Wiseman averaged 11.5 points on 51.9% shooting from the field with 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 21.4 minutes per game.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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