Stats suggest critics wrong; rookie Wiseman on pace
The Warriors have come under fire recently for their handling of the development of rookie center James Wiseman, especially since the 19yearold’s 20.8 minutes per game rank as the lowest for a No. 2 overall pick since Hasheem Thabeet in 200910.
“There is a source of organizational tension on the way that they’ve used Wiseman this year,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said on the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast. “There are some people in the organization that really want them to put James Wiseman out there more … letting him play through mistakes, letting him play more minutes, heavier minutes.”
Thabeet averaged 13 minutes per game in 200910 for Memphis, and after being traded to Houston in 2011, the 7foot3 center had stops with Portland and Oklahoma City before being of the league in 2014. The NBA’s current best centers, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, played 25.4 and 21.7 minutes per game in their rookies seasons, respectively.
A statistical analysis indicates: “RELAX.”
Wiseman, even amid a rookie season like no other, is probably on track for a career somewhere in between the outliers: Thabeet as a draft bust and Embiid and Jokic contending for an MVP award.
Despite missing training camp and the exhibition slate because of coronavirus protocols, Wiseman started the first 16 games of the Warriors’ season. He came off the bench for four games before missing 11 with a wrist injury.
The rollercoaster continued as he missed a coronavirus test during the AllStar break and was benched for three quarters, but he responded by averaging 12.3 points on 68% shooting in a threegame stretch before getting sidelined again for a week because of contact tracing.
Through it all, Wiseman is about where expected. As guards LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards jet toward the top of the Rookie of the Year race (prior to Ball being hurt Saturday, at least), it’s important to remember that big men tend to take longer to develop in the NBA.
Wiseman ranks ninth in rookie minutes per game, a fraction ahead of Boston guard Payton Pritchard. But the Warriors’ 7footer is tops among rookies logging minutes at center, way ahead of Denver’s Zeke Nnaji (10.5 minutes, 22nd pick), Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu (9.7, sixth), and Phoenix’s Jalen Smith (4.9, 10th).
Even when the study is extended by a decade, Wiseman is playing very close to a predictive role. He was the sixth center drafted first or second since 2011, and he’s producing like the players before him.
Embiid missed his first two seasons withright foot injuries, but Wiseman’s rookie numbers per 36 minutes are better than those of Deandre Ayton and Anthony Davis and similar to those of Marvin Bagley III and KarlAnthony Towns. Wiseman is averaging 20.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per 36 minutes.
“It’s going great so far,” Wiseman said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I’m still learning and not backing down from the challenge.”