The Indiana Pacers’ injury woes have already begun, not even a full game into the 2024-25 season.
In his organizational debut, James Wiseman was looking to make a good first impression. Unfortunately, he exited the game early without a fair chance at doing so.
In the waning minutes of the first quarter, the former No. 2 overall selection by the Golden State Warriors in the 2020 NBA Draft went down with a non-contact injury while backpedaling after a three-point shot attempt. He would promptly leave the game soon after while being helped off of the court by teammate Obi Toppin.
The Pistons’ commentary team noticed that directly after the injury occurred, Wiseman looked at his feet to see if another player had made contact with him, a tell-tale sign of a non-contact lower leg injury.
“You see he looked behind, wondering, ‘Hey, what happened?” Pistons’ color commentator Greg Kelser exclaimed. “Did I get kicked or something?”
Wiseman signed a two-year contract with Indiana which includes a team option for the 2025-26 season, and he will seemingly miss some time during his one partially guaranteed season in 2024-25.
As one of the most intriguing center prospects in recent memory, Wiseman was slated to be the Warriors’ missing piece that could help bridge their gap between the present and the future.
After two seasons in Golden State and receiving an NBA championship ring in 2022 despite not playing the entire season due to injury, Wiseman was traded to the Pistons the following season in a four-team deal.
Wiseman played 63 games for Detroit in 2023-24, averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds before subsequently signing with Indiana prior to the 2024-25 season. In just 4 minutes and 38 seconds of playing time against his former team, Wiseman unfortunately returned to a familiar place, sidelined once again with injury in his young career.
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