SALT LAKE CITY — Even from the opposite side of the court, the anticipation emanating from James Wiseman Tuesday afternoon was infectious. The former No. 2 overall pick whose career has so far been marred by injuries had good reason to be excited: he was about to practice with contact for the first time since last April.
The 20-year-old 7-footer took a major step in his recovery from a torn meniscus Tuesday inside Utah’s Vivint Arena, signaling that a rehab process that has featured follow-up procedures, setbacks and uncertain timelines could be entering its final stages.
Joined by Juan Toscano-Anderson, Moses Moody, Chris Chiozza and two assistant coaches — with Klay Thompson watching from the baseline — Wiseman finished practice Tuesday by playing 3-on-3 for approximately 15 minutes. He set screens, took contact, rolled to the rim and finished dunks.
#Warriors James Wiseman doing contact work for the first time since tearing his meniscus almost 10 months ago pic.twitter.com/Ufppesy62w
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) February 8, 2022
His first contact drills came three days after he joined the team in practice for the first time Saturday, three months after coach Steve Kerr first indicated Wiseman was nearing this point in his recovery and five months since the organization’s first false sense of optimism, when the team said that he was expected to be ready for training camp.
All those moments came and went without Wiseman getting the all-important clearance from the Warriors’ medical staff.
In December, he underwent a follow-up procedure to clean up debris and reduce swelling in the surgically repaired right knee, which was originally operated on last April 15, after he tore his meniscus on a dunk attempt April 10 against the Houston Rockets.
General manager Bob Myers said recently that Wiseman had on multiple occasions “walked up to the doorstep of contact and the knee has reacted a little bit.” When Wiseman came down with COVID-19 at the start of January, Kerr said the positive test and ensuing quarantine came “literally just in the last few days” before Dr. Rick Celebrini, the team’s director of performance, was going to clear him for contact.
But that crucial assessment took another month before finally coming Tuesday.
Wiseman’s first milestone came shortly after he cleared protocols, traveling with them on their four-game road trip that started in Memphis, where he attended a ceremony at his high school to retire his jersey.
Once again, he was nearing contact but still waiting for word from the Warriors training staff.
With his return seemingly on the horizon, Kerr offered an outlook of what the weeks ahead would look like once Wiseman did receive approval.
“That’ll mean, do we scrimmage on practice days? Do we play 3-on-3 with the other young guys? Stuff like that. Is it really hard one-on-one workout with one of our bigs? All that stuff needs to happen before he’s ready to play a game,” Kerr said at the time.
Because his absence from competition will have amounted to less than half the time Thompson missed with back-to-back knee injuries, the general belief is that once Wiseman starts ramping up basketball activity, the time it will take to clear him for game action won’t take as long as the nearly two months Thompson needed to get back into NBA conditioning.
Rehabbing together allowed Thompson and Wiseman to bond. Since Thompson returned to the court, he said he has checked in on Wiseman every day.
So, on his 32nd birthday, Thompson plopped down in a padded chair on the baseline of Vivint Arena to witness his rehab partner take his biggest step yet on his return to the court.
“I’m glad we’re taking our time with him,” Thompson said the previous night, following a 110-98 win in Oklahoma City. “You forget sometimes he’s only 20 years old. His best basketball is far ahead of him and he’s going to be a great player. …
“He’s doing great. He shows up everyday and works hard. He’s so mature for his age. He’s just a great listener. He’s been a great teammate. I’m excited for Wise.”
