It’s never easy to lose your No. 2 overall draft pick for a large portion of his rookie season because of injury – especially when they represent your first top-10 pick in eight years.

And after missing his first offseason with a positive COVID-19 test, center James Wiseman will likely not get an offseason once again in the aftermath of his torn meniscus on April 10 and subsequent successful surgery. 

A Warriors news release said Wiseman was to begin rehab immediately after his Thursday operation, confirming the former University of Memphis player’s absence for the rest of this season, while adding Wiseman is expected to return for the start of the 2021-22 campaign. 


The center has been hampered by a wrist injury, COVID-19 protocols and the virus itself, but this devastating injury to his right knee is the most severe ailment the 20-year old has faced.

Luckily for Golden State, Steve Kerr expressed optimism about Wiseman’s prospects while acknowledging the setback the young center is now saddled with.

"He had a very positive repair,” Kerr said. “The surgeon felt great about it. Our training staff feels great about it. Long term, we think he's going to be fine. But obviously a tough blow."

However, according to Kerr, no promises can be made pertaining to his comeback, potentially putting next season’s plans with a healthy Klay Thompson even more in limbo.

"We said we would make a statement in September, have an update in September,” Kerr said. “At this point it's just indefinite and we'll see how he responds."

It can be easy to get lost in concern over Wiseman as the writing on his chart seems to keep getting longer. But there is a blueprint for an injury-prone lottery pick to emerge as a star, as Wiseman can hopefully emulate Joel Embiid instead of Greg Oden.

Obviously there is no guarantee Wiseman can become a player on Embiid’s level, and the MVP hopeful from this season is dealing with injuries to this day. The Warriors, however, do have the luxury of a culture to develop a post-injury Wiseman, as opposed to the tumultuous 76ers organization of the mid-2010s.

It’s also easy to lose perspective over how much Wiseman already has to build on as a player. The center just recently left his teens, and boasts elite athleticism, reach, handle and agility for a player his size. His jumper has also shown promise, while his post game and discipline are definite areas of improvement vital to his development.

The point is, NBA careers are long. Players like Embiid, whose careers seemed to have gotten off to rocky starts as big men susceptible to injuries, have turned in good to great professional careers, and despite a less-than-ideal start, Wiseman still has a bright future ahead of him.

Stephen Curry, who faced ankle injuries early in his career and knows about shining later in his time in the NBA – Curry became one of two players Saturday to ever have 10-consecutive 30-point games while over the age of 33 – has been telling the rookie to not get discouraged.

"I hit him earlier (Thursday) to let him know he has to think bigger picture,” Curry said. “He's 20 years old. He's got a lot of basketball ahead of him. He has an opportunity now to flip a terrible situation on its head and work on his body, work on his mind."

With the Warriors’ recent injury luck, Wiseman has a lot of teammates and well-versed members of the organization to lean on. But there is pressure on the 20-year old, as his success in rehabilitation may also be the key to one of Golden State’s last legitimate championship runs next year.