Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman, who has been sidelined since April 10, 2021, with a knee injury, had arthroscopic surgery in mid-December to relieve swelling, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Wiseman is still moving toward clearance for contact, per Slater, who noted the surgery was the reason for his delayed return to the court.
More specifically, Slater reported that Wiseman “needed a scope and cleanup in mid-December, flushing out some loose bodies.”
As for what’s gone down lately, Slater reported that Wiseman has been “building toward full-contact activity.” He’s going on road trips with Golden State and doing individual work.
The expectation, per head coach Steve Kerr, is for him to gain clearance for three-on-three and then five-on-five action.
“His rehab is going really well,” Kerr said.
“His knee is feeling good. His spirits are up, he’s bouncing around practice—high energy. He’s getting ready to play with some contact. It’s exciting just to see a smile on his face and to see him back after this long of an absence.”
Wiseman, who was selected by the Warriors with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game during his rookie season, starting 27 of 39 games.
However, his season ended on April 10 after he played just six minutes against the Houston Rockets. News soon arrived that he suffered a season-ending meniscus injury.
On April 15, the Warriors provided an update on his status:
“Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman underwent successful surgery today at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles to repair a right meniscal tear. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Wiseman will begin rehab immediately and will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season. He is expected to return for the 2021-22 campaign. An update on his progress will be provided in September.”
The initial hope was that Wiseman would be out for weeks, but a closer look at his knee from surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache showed that the timeline would be much longer, as ESPN’s Nick Friedell relayed through head coach Steve Kerr in mid-April.
“At this point, it’s just indefinite,” Kerr said of Wiseman’s absence. “And we’ll see how he responds.”
However, there was some encouraging news to report in late November as the Warriors assigned Wiseman to their G League team in Santa Cruz.
Kylen Mills of KRON4 News also provided this encouraging Dec. 7 news:
Kylen Mills @KylenMills
Warriors center James Wiseman working on his handles with a shadow defender today after practice. Steve Kerr just mentioned that staff is likely targeting a 2022 return for Wiseman, he’s still in the gym getting better every day. <a href=”https://twitter.com/kron4news?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@kron4news</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/DubNation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#DubNation</a> <a href=”https://t.co/y3XmL8v1uH”>pic.twitter.com/y3XmL8v1uH</a>
Unfortunately, Wiseman needed surgery that delayed his progress, but he appears to be on the right track once again.
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