Kendra AndrewsESPN
LAS VEGAS — As Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Cuminga began to attack the rim, he hooked the ball over his head to find a cutting James Wiseman. In one move, Wiseman caught the ball in the air and threw down a dunk. It was the first possession of the Warriors’ summer league game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday and it was Wiseman’s first bucket since March, when he played in a trio of G League games. A minute after his alley-oop dunk, he knocked down his only 3-pointer of the night.
1 Related “It felt good,” Wiseman said. “There’s a lot of things to work on, I mean my timing was pretty off. But that was my first game. I had fun out there.” Prior to his brief stint in the G League, Wiseman had not played since April 2021 when he tore his right meniscus. Wiseman played four four-minute jump shots at the start of each quarter in his summer league debut — an 86-85 win over the Spurs. He checked in for the final three minutes of the game — something Wiseman said he was more than comfortable with. In 19 minutes, Wiseman finished with 11 points on 6-of-7 shooting, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. In Wiseman’s eyes, the areas where his timing was off were setting screens and read patterns. “To be able to come out and play in a summer league game like today with good composure and playing at the rim, blocking some shots, he looked like a really good basketball player,” Warriors summer league coach Jama Mahlalela said. “This first outing is all we wanted and we told him to go out, have fun, enjoy the game and leave it to him.” There were flashes of Wiseman’s athleticism throughout the night — highlighted by his dunk and blocks. He ran the floor well and wasn’t afraid to play physical. “It was physical. That’s a huge adjustment,” Wiseman said. “I’ve been out there, so I’ve been doing a lot of individual workouts. So to get that push, that physical contact, I’m proud to be out there.” His return has given the Warriors something they’ve lacked so far this summer: real size and presence in the paint. And it’s something Golden State could use more of. But the Warriors want him to use his size more on the boards. Once the game was over, Wiseman went to Mahlalela and told him he knows he has to get more than two rebounds, like he did against Spurs. “[It’s really about] to stay cautious, stay aggressive and just get it done,” Wiseman said. “The ball really wasn’t coming my way that much, but I was trying to get as much as I could.” The Warriors are emphasizing fundamentals for Wiseman through training camp. Either way, those will be a big part of his role with Golden State during the regular season. But now that they’ve actually seen Wiseman play, the Warriors can start planning how they want to use the 7-foot center. “Until he plays, we don’t really know what we have. You don’t know what you’re working with,” Mahlalela told ESPN. “Hopefully by the first week of August, we’ll have a much clearer plan of what he needs to work on by August and training camp.” Mahlalela also believes they will learn some of that by the end of the summer, depending on how many games Wiseman plays. The initial plan is for Wiseman to play in Tuesday’s game against the Boston Celtics, along with Kuminga and Moses Moody. Monday’s practice will be a light work day for Wiseman — which the Warriors try to do after every “heavy day.” How much longer Wiseman plays after this is up in the air. But right now, just one game under Wiseman’s belt is the most important thing for Golden State. “Walking into the locker room after the game and all the players cheering him on, I think he can say, ‘Ah, I can breathe again,’” Mahlalela told ESPN. “Every conversation I have with him is, I’m so proud of you, but now the real work begins.” Wiseman responded with, “Good, coach.”
title: “Golden State Warriors Center James Wiseman Impresses In 2022 Nba Summer League Debut " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Leo Kiehne”
Kendra AndrewsESPN
LAS VEGAS — As Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Cuminga began to attack the rim, he hooked the ball over his head to find a cutting James Wiseman. In one move, Wiseman caught the ball in the air and threw down a dunk. It was the first possession of the Warriors’ summer league game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday and it was Wiseman’s first bucket since March, when he played in a trio of G League games. A minute after his alley-oop dunk, he knocked down his only 3-pointer of the night.
1 Related “It felt good,” Wiseman said. “There’s a lot of things to work on, I mean my timing was pretty off. But that was my first game. I had fun out there.” Prior to his brief stint in the G League, Wiseman had not played since April 2021 when he tore his right meniscus. Wiseman played four four-minute jump shots at the start of each quarter in his summer league debut — an 86-85 win over the Spurs. He checked in for the final three minutes of the game — something Wiseman said he was more than comfortable with. In 19 minutes, Wiseman finished with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. In Wiseman’s eyes, the areas where his timing was off were setting screens and read patterns. “To be able to come out and play in a summer league game like today with good composure and playing at the rim, blocking some shots, he looked like a really good basketball player,” Warriors summer league coach Jama Mahlalela said. “This first outing is all we wanted and we told him to go out, have fun, enjoy the game and leave it to him.” There were flashes of Wiseman’s athleticism throughout the night — highlighted by his dunk and blocks. He ran the floor well and wasn’t afraid to play physical. “It was physical. That’s a huge adjustment,” Wiseman said. “I’ve been out there, so I’ve been doing a lot of individual workouts. So to get that push, that physical contact, I’m proud to be out there.” His return has given the Warriors something they’ve lacked so far this summer: real size and presence in the paint. And it’s something Golden State could use more of. One area where the Warriors want him to use his size more is on the boards. Once the game was over, Wiseman went to Mahlalela and told the coach that he knows he needs to get more than two rebounds, like he did against Spurs. “[It’s really about] to stay cautious, stay aggressive and just get it done,” Wiseman said. “The ball really wasn’t coming my way that much, but I was trying to get as much as I could.” The Warriors are emphasizing fundamentals for Wiseman through training camp. Either way, those will be a big part of his role with Golden State during the regular season. But now that they’ve actually seen Wiseman play, the Warriors can start planning how they want to use the 7-foot center. “Until he plays, we don’t really know what we have. You don’t know what you’re working with,” Mahlalela told ESPN. “Hopefully by the first week of August, we’ll have a much clearer plan of what he needs to work on by August and training camp.” Mahlalela also believes they will learn some of that by the end of the summer, depending on how many games Wiseman plays. The initial plan is for Wiseman to play in Tuesday’s game against the Boston Celtics, along with Kuminga and Moses Moody. Monday’s practice will be a light work day for Wiseman — which the Warriors try to do after every “heavy day.” How much longer Wiseman plays after this is up in the air. But right now, just one game under Wiseman’s belt is the most important thing for Golden State. “Walking into the locker room after the game and all the players cheering him on, I think he can say, ‘Ah, I can breathe again,’” Mahlalela told ESPN. “Every conversation I have with him is, I’m so proud of you, but now the real work begins.” Wiseman responded with, “Good, coach.”
