Las Vegas – The wait is over, James Wiseman made his NBA summer league debut this evening when the Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 86-85. Wiseman impressed the crowd when he scored his first two points on an alley-app dunk! Then on the next play he blocked a shot. Within the first 4 minutes Wiseman used his length and athleticism up and down the court.
“For him to be able to come out and play in a summer league game like today with good composure and playing at the rim, blocking some shots, he just looked like a really good basketball player,” Warriors summer league coach Jama Mahlalela said. “That first outing is all we wanted, and we told him to come out, have fun, enjoy the game and let it come to him.”
Coach Mahlalela kept Wiseman’s minutes short each quarter. While Wiseman made an impressive start, he struggled on offense and looked like he was tired most of the game. He finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Wiseman also had 7 fouls and two turnovers. The goal was just to get him active and then build his minutes up.
“We knew we wanted to start him early in the quarter,” said Mahlalela. “It’s important to play key minutes and learn what to do during key situations. Well, see how he responds moving forward and see what his performance is and go from there on the coming up games.”
Jonathan Kuminga has been a beast in summer league. He finished with 28 points in 26 minutes and continues to develop into the player Golden State needs for the upcoming season. Down by more than 15 points, Kuminga single handedly put the team on his back for a comeback in the fourth quarter.
Wiseman returned with 3 minutes left for a dunk to give the Warriors the lead 79-77. Kuminga’s floating layup tied the game 79-79. Quinnary Weatherspoon went to the line to extend their lead 81-79. Kuminga’s last two baskets tied the game 85-85. But the Spurs fouled and put Kuminga on the line with 8.1 seconds left in the game. He made his first shot and missed the second. Great defense by the Warriors in the final minutes and time running out gave Golden State the win.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter