Golden State's James Wiseman on rehab: Mom saw me in tears

James Wiseman missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a major injury to his right knee, but now he is ready to make an impact for the Warriors. 

Wiseman has been through a lot since the Warriors took him with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The 21-year-old recently told The Press Democrat of Santa Rosa, Calif., about the difficulty of his rehab.

“I’ve been through a lot of low moments. Some days, I wasn’t feeling it, some days I couldn’t work out because mentally I wasn’t there, but I just found ways to push through it every day … even when I was going through my emotional breakdowns and stuff.

It was hard for me and for my family as well, for my mom to see me down and stuff, to see me in tears."

The physical aspect of basketball was just part of what dragged Wiseman down. He also battled and conquered mental hurdles. Now he has a renewed passion for the game.

“It actually lit some more fire inside of me,” Wiseman said of the rehab. “It actually made (my love for the game) better in a good way because I missed the game so much so it just made my ambition grow, or get stronger.”

Wiseman showed promise in his rookie season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes over 39 games (27 starts). Now he’s ready to prove why the Warriors believed in him.