Golden State Warriors rookie James Wiseman can 'be great player in this league', says head coach Steve Kerr
James Wiseman recorded 19 points and six rebounds while making his debut for the Golden State Warriors in their opening night loss to the Brooklyn Nets, having been selected at No 2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Wednesday 23 December 2020 10:48, UK
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says rookie James Wiseman showed during his NBA debut why the organisation hold such high hopes for him.
Wiseman, who was selected at No 2 overall in November's Draft, supported Stephen Curry with 19 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes in the 125-99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The seven-foot center arrived in the NBA having played just three games in college after receiving a 12-game suspension for "recruiting inducements his family received", with Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway, who was an assistant at East High School at the time, gave Wiseman's mother $11,500 in 2017 to help the family move from Nashville to Memphis.
A small sample size, however, wouldn't go on to impact his draft stock as the Warriors turned to the 19-year-old's athleticism in a bid to fill a priority need.
"He played really well," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He looked great out there. I would have preferred a game where we actually were in the game and playing at a competitive level, but obviously we got crushed tonight.
"But James showed exactly why we are very excited about him. He is a really talented guy and he is smart and hardworking and he wants to do well and fit in with his team-mates, so he has got a bright future."
Wiseman's immediate impact came as a promising sign for the Warriors amid a season in which they must again fare without Klay Thompson, who tore his right Achilles tendon two weeks before training camp after missing the entire 2019-20 campaign on the back of ACL surgery.
Draymond Green is meanwhile expected to play an influential role in unlocking the rookie's potential when he returns from the foot injury that ruled him out of Tuesday's game.
"He went out and got 19 points in his first NBA game in 24 minutes," Kerr added. "He is so raw, so there's so far to go, in terms of calling out defensive coverages. The game's slowing down for him and that is what is so exciting.
"He is a really smart young man. He has got a tremendous work ethic and he hasn't even scratched the surface, so that's what I think is really exciting and to think about where he'll be a few months from now, and beyond that a couple of years from now, he has got a chance to be a great player in this league, so it's very exciting."
In his first game since November 13, 2019 against Oregon, Wiseman found himself up against a former league MVP in Kevin Durant, who posted 22 points, five rebounds and three assists having missed the whole of last season while recovering from an Achilles tendon injury suffered with the Warriors in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
"I think I did really well for not playing [in] a year," said Wiseman. "And due to the protocols and stuff, I just got to get my conditioning back up.
"But in terms of everything else, my first game and not playing in a whole year, I feel like I did well. But I feel like I should have been more aggressive on the boards. But we lost, so it doesn't matter."
