After sitting out the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to a major knee injury, James Wiseman is now primed to make a significant impact for the Golden State Warriors this coming campaign. This young man has been through quite a lot early in his career, and the fact that he was able to battle through adversity speaks volumes of his fortitude.
It wasn't easy, though. Wiseman recently revealed just how difficult things got for him last season as he was forced to watch from the sidelines the entire year. According to the 21-year-old, it was easily one of the toughest experiences he's had to go through in his entire life (via Madeline Kenney of The Press Democrat):
“I’ve been through a lot of low moments,” he said. “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,” Wiseman continued. “But I just stayed strong … I just kept going.”
As it turns out, it wasn't just the physical aspect of the game that dragged him down. Wiseman also battled through a lot of mental hurdles — all of which he emerged victorious from.
As they always say, whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. This is exactly the case for James Wiseman as he's now found a renewed passion for the sport:
“It actually lit some more fire inside of me,” Wiseman said. “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 a lot of promise in his rookie year before he went down with a major knee injury. He's now fully recovered, though, and he's out to prove that he's still an important part of the Warriors' future.