Kevon Looney knows exactly how James Wiseman feels early in the 2022-23 NBA season.
Speaking to reporters following the Warriors' 106-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at Chase Center, Looney shared what Wiseman has to do to crack the rotation again.
"Just keep working, trust the process, trust the work that you're putting in," Looney said. "Opportunities are always going to come back around."
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For Looney, Wiseman's inconsistent playing time hits close to home. In his eight seasons with the Warriors, Looney has played in 379 games and started fewer than half of those (162).
However, the 27-year-old kept working on his craft and navigated injuries effectively, eventually becoming the Warriors' starting center last season. Looney became an integral part of the Warriors' 2022 NBA Finals run, helping them win their fourth championship in eight seasons.
Before that happened though, Looney's minutes shuffled daily.
"I'm a guy that's been in and out of the rotation before a lot in my career, so things happen in the league and Steve [Kerr] always usually goes back to his guys, and I think he's going to get another chance to show what he's made of and he's a great player, great talent," Looney continued.
Looney also understands that Wiseman is under immense pressure to perform, especially since the latter was selected No. 2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft and has missed over a year rehabbing from various knee injuries.
Still, the veteran center has faith that his 21-year-old teammate will put everything together in due time.
Golden State Warriors
"I think he's going to figure out, he's going to be a great player for us," Looney added. "We're going to need him at some point, and he just kind of has to trust the process and wait your time."
In the Warriors' first five games, Wiseman averaged 16.9 minutes per game, scoring 11 points on 67.6 percent shooting from the field and grabbing 5.4 rebounds.
However, he earned a plus/minus rating of minus-10.4 when he was on the floor, meaning the Warriors were outscored by 10.4 points when he was playing.
Since then, Wiseman's minutes dropped to just over 10 per game during the Warriors' five-game losing streak, and he didn't play in Golden State's last two games against the Kings and Cavaliers -- both wins.
RELATED: Looney's great response to Kerr praising him as leader
Despite what the advanced metrics and box score say, Kerr and the rest of the Warriors organization are still big believers in what Wiseman can do.
That should give Wiseman faith in the process if Looney's journey is anything to go by.