If there’s one Warriors player who can understand what James Wiseman is going through, it’s Kevon Looney.
The three-time NBA Finals champion stopped by the latest episode of the Dubs Talk Podcast, where he shared with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffmann that the team is trying to keep Wiseman’s spirits up in light of his latest injury setback.
“He’s doing the best that he can, mentally,” Looney said. “He comes in every day, works hard, keeps a smile on his face, and that’s hard to do when you’re dealing with the circumstances that he’s dealing with. He never really shows his emotions or lets guys know that he’s down. He just comes in, puts in his work and he still feels like he’s one of the guys.
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“I commend him for that, because I know it’s tough going through a year of rehab and getting close, and then to get pulled back is always hard. I’ve been there before, so I know how hard it is.”
Wiseman’s 2021-22 season came to an end on Friday, when the Warriors announced that he won’t be returning to the court as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired right knee. The second-year pro had yet to play this season after tearing his meniscus last April.
It was the Warriors’ hope that Wiseman could return to the court for playoffs and provide a much-needed boost to center with his 7-foot-1 frame, but he sustained a setback earlier this month during a rehab stint with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors.
With just 39 games under his belt -- all of which came during his rookie year last season -- the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has faced a fair deal of skepticism at a young age.
Golden State Warriors
Looney, who was drafted by the Warriors in 2015, was once in Wiseman’s shoes. From surgery to repair a core muscle injury to being diagnosed with a neuropathic condition that threatened his career, the 26-year-old has faced plenty of his own setbacks. During the 2019-2020 season, Looney appeared in just 20 games after signing a three-year, $14.5 million contract extension.
So what advice does he have for Wiseman, who is looking to make good on the team's expectations of him? Looney told Liffmann that the young player continues to persevere thanks to encouragement from his teammates.
“We just try to be there for him as a team, let him know that guys have been through this and overcame injuries like this. You’re not the only one that ever had to go through this, and it’s been guys that have successful careers, been All-Stars having missed a lot of time … He’s really talented. He has a chance to be really special in this league and it doesn’t happen overnight, so just know if you keep working it can happen. That’s all we try to tell him.”
Even though Wiseman is still young with little in-game experience, his remarkable skill set is impossible to miss, Looney said.
“Even last year in the games he played, he showed flashes of things at his size that nobody really can do. He can go coast to coast and Euro dunk on somebody at seven foot. That’s tough to do,” Looney said. “There’s only a certain amount of players that could ever do stuff like that, so he has the raw talents and skills that kind of jump off the court when you watch him play.”
Looney is privy to behind-the-scenes moments from Wiseman at practice that have shocked and impressed his teammates, he added.
“... I’m holding him and plays I didn’t think he’d be able to make, he’s doing it. He’s hitting 3s, he’s hitting turnarounds, step backs, stuff like that,” Looney said. “I’m like, hold on. I didn’t know he was going to be doing all this in practice. He’s a guy that could be a handful in the post.”
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With veterans like Draymond Green and Steph Curry to look up to, as well as coaches like Dejan Milojević, who Looney said has helped him tremendously, Wiseman has a support system that will help him elevate his game whenever he’s ready to return to the court.
“He’s already got the talent, the size and everything else. He just needs to get the game experience and be able to think at a high level,” Looney said. “He has some great teachers here … He has all the right people around him that can take him to the next level, and he’s a hard worker. That’s all a plus.”