James Wiseman: NBA Draft Scouting Report & Analysis

James Wiseman's vitals:

Introducing James Wiseman

James Wiseman, a 7'1 center, hails from Nashville Tennessee. He played his highschool basketball in Memphis and garnered much critical acclaim - soaring to #1 in the RSCI. Wiseman committed to Memphis for his college ball, but his college career, after just 3 games, was cut short by a controversial NCAA violation. Wiseman declared for the NBA draft. He'll be 19.2 years old as of June 25, 2020.

Wiseman's appeal stems from his alluring physical gifts; he's a mobile 7'1 big with a 7'6 wingspan and has potential as a dominant rim runner and rim protector. Wiseman's a bit of a polarizing draft prospect: traditional scouts are enamoured with his physical tools, while more "progressive" thinkers worry about Wiseman's ability to defend in space and stay on the floor in the playoffs, along with the value of spending a high draft pick on a center.

Overview

OFFENSE Wiseman projects as an excellent rim runner and finisher. He's got great height and length, which gives a huge catch radius. He's pretty agile for a 7'1 big and runs the floor hard. Off rolls, Wiseman gets to the rim quickly. He's a great screen setter and should be an excellent PNR player. Wiseman will also score efficiently through offensive rebounds and drawing fouls. Although not a dominant post scorer, Wiseman will punish switching defenses by attacking smaller players with post seals.

Wiseman's limited by his shooting, decision-making, and overall creation ability. Wiseman's unlikely to become a pop threat, although he's displayed softer shooting touch than most 7'1 players. Wiseman's a poor passer and decision-maker. He settles for too many fadeaways, and he's unlikely to excel at making quick reads.

DEFENSE

Wiseman projects as an excellent rim protector. He has incredible length and a huge block radius. Although he needs some load time to really get up, he still blocks a ton of shots and alters many more. He's even able to bother some floaters and midrange pullups. Wiseman currently bites on too many pumpfakes, but improving his discipline here should be easy.

Wiseman's PNR defense is a mixed-bag. He has so much length and size that he can be effective in a conservative, drop coverage. Channeling smaller players into Wiseman's outstretched arms is a smart move. Wiseman struggles to moves in space - hedging and recovering to the roll man or getting out to a pop big is a challenge for him. And he's not someone who should be making multiple rotations. However, Wiseman is more mobile than the worst plodder; for example, he can stay with a guard for a couple slides in ICE.

Projections for NBA Impact & Role

Wiseman has an easy path to NBA goodness, and he projects as an above-average starting center.

Offensively, Wiseman will be an excellent roll man. He's a great screener, is agile rolling to the basket, and has a huge catch radius. Wiseman will also finish well by getting on the offensive glass and beating his man down the floor for easy baskets.

Wiseman's unlikely to be much more than a great screener and finisher, but he should have a little more offensive versatility than pure rim finishers like DeAndre Jordan. Although Wiseman is unlikely to be a high-volume pop threat from 3, I project him as taking and making the occasional pop 3 and hitting long 2s at a respectable clip. He should be able to postup against switches (especially through seals) and score efficiently in the post against some big men. However, Wiseman likely lacks the passing and ball-handling fluidity to create out of short rolls, and I certainly don't think teams can run an offense through him.

Defensively, Wiseman has a lot of physical tools and solid (but unrefined instincts) that should make him a very good defensive center. He has a huge block radius and is strong enough to hold position in the post. He needs some load time for leaping, but Wiseman's length means he can still swallow offensive players up even without a big leap. He's also an excellent defensive rebounder that diligently boxes out.

The main criticism of Wiseman - that he's poor moving in space - is valid but overstated. Wiseman undoubtedly moves poorly in space and will struggle if asked to get out to shooters, make multiple rotations, hedge and recover, etc. However, NBA teams can play him in a drop coverage and keep him close to the basket. Dominant NBA teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors have had great defenses while playing plodding big men like Brook Lopez and Marc Gasol. Wiseman will need to improve his technique and feel to excel as a rim protector in drop coverage, but he's already shown the ability to sitback and protect the basket while still swallowing up drivers and affecting their floaters. Given that Wiseman is still a teenager, has the physical tools to succeed in a drop coverage, and his instincts aren't broken, I project that he'll develop into a very good defensive player that is on the fringes of All-Defense consideration.

Physical Tools

• Imposing height & length. 7'1 in shoes; 7'6 wingspan; 9'3.5 standing reach. Similar to Brook Lopez (7'0.5; 7'5; 9'5).

• Looks huge on the court - even against other pro prospects like Oscar Tshiebwe or Kofi Cockburn.

• Wiseman's length and height give him a large catch and block radius. Gets to balls most players aren't able to. Swallows offensive players up under the basket.

• Possesses a good frame. Not incredibly broad but solid. Listed at 240 lbs. Should be able to add more healthy weight - especially in chest. 250-260 lbs is realistic.

• Pretty strong for 19 year-old big man. Draws lots of fouls (although he has bad tendency to settle for fadeaways) and holds position in post and for rebounds. Can get knocked back a bit when guarding the post. Definitely must get stronger in lower body. In sum - has good strength now and could get well-above average in time.

• Long strider. Gets down the floor very quickly, and is able to step around some defenders thanks to his long strides.

• Good vertical leaper, but needs time to load up. Doesn't have the quick burst off the ground that someone like Anthony Davis has. Gets up high but needs load time.

• Underrated second jump. Doesn't get up high on second jump, but doesn't need to with his length. Just getting up reasonably quickly with his arms out is enough. Has "block party" sequences in part because he has a decent second jump.

• Ok lateral quickness for a 7'1 player. Not a switch guy, but can stay with a ballhandler for a couple slides.

• Poor change of direction (slow hips). Overall moves poorly in big space in half-court setting (more closely resembles Brook Lopez than Anthony Davis here). For example, has trouble hedging and then recovering to roll man.

• Doesn't have special quickness. More than solid for a big man - can attack in some faceup situations, but against nowhere close to quickness of bigs like Anthony Davis or Kevin Garnett.

Wiseman possesses excellent physical tools, which are the main reason why Wiseman is a good prospect. He's not as quick or as explosive as all-time physical tool bigs like Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Anthony Davis, etc. But his overall tools package belongs comfortably in the next class of physically gifted bigs. He's not as long as Rudy Gobert, but he's stronger and possibly more vertically explosive. He's quicker and a better leaper than Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez. He's slower and less coordinated than post-injury Joel Embiid, but he's a better leaper.

Wiseman's physical tools give him a large cushion for success as a prospect. He doesn't need elite skill or feel to make a positive impact.

Wiseman (#32) is a big guy with a big catch radius:

Context, Intangibles

• Wiseman played only three games at Memphis due to complications arising from a NCAA violation.

• Limited college sample - Oregon was the only good team he faced. With a limited sample, I won't use many stats in my analysis.

• In highschool, Wiseman had a reputation for taking bad shots and not playing with intensity.

• The tape shows that Wiseman struggled with decision-making and intensity early in his high-school career, but he improved dramatically through his senior year.

• By the time Wiseman made it to the high-school all-star circuit, he was playing with considerable more tenacity and force. This translated to the three college games he played, where Wiseman played with good (not great - but still good) intensity and appeared to embrace his role as a rim runner and shot blocker.

• Positive upward trajectory in Wiseman's development. Much improved from earlier in highschool, is embracing being a big man.

Finishing (non postups)

• Excellent finisher.

• Tons of length for finishing. Easy for him to get over most defenders.

• Not the most physical finisher, but can power through contact when confronted with it. Drew lots of fouls.

• Prefers left hand but can go right.

• Gets a lot of dunks.Given his size and length, he doesn't need to get off ground much to be dunking.

• Some rudimentary ability to step around defenders. Can take 1 dribble when heading to basket. Turnover prone, but some flashes of driving off 1 dribble and finishing.

• Generally explosive around the basket and gets up for his finishes (although not a DeAndre Jordan level dunker). But sometimes needs too much load time to go up. Especially bad in traffic. Must go up quicker, even if it means less lift.

• Most of the time he's just going up and dunking. But solid at tip-ins. Some touch off glass when driving and unable to dunk.

• Decent second jump helps him cleanup his own misses. Can stay with it even if he doesn't score on the first attempt.

• Must improve at not bringing ball down. Likes to load for leaping but must keep ball high. Doesn't need to out jump everyone at 7'1. Just lay it back in.

• Huge catch radius for receiving passes. Easy target for passes at rim. But mediocre hands. Not going to catch everything thrown at him. However, the huge catch radius helps make up for meh hands.

Wiseman's length, terrific catch radius, and solid vertical explosiveness will make him a great finisher in the NBA. He likely won't be a Deandre Jordan level dunker - but he'll still be a very good finisher. He can improve by bringing the ball down less.

Goes to the load up/power dribble a little more than I'd like:

Postups

• Solid postup player. Won't run an offense through his postgame, but can certainly attack a switch in the post.

• Prefers starting in the left block. Likes to get to his left hand turning over his right shoulder.

• Pretty soft touch on left-handed hook shots.

• Competes to establish good position - and can against smaller defenders. Larger bigs can push him off block. Improved lower body strength would help him hold position.

• When facing up, he'll either shoot a little baseline jumper or drive right for the running righty hook (solid touch on this).

• Bad tendency to go into "fadeaway" mode where he takes a stepback jumper or spins away from his defender to take a fading jumper. Low efficiency shot. Likes to dribble right when going to his fadeaway.

• The fadeaway tendency was more prevalent at lower levels of play, but Wiseman improved considerably at eliminating those kind of shots from his repertoire. At Memphis Wiseman only took 1 or 2 post fades a game.

• Wiseman's post moves are mechanicals - not much creativity or fluidity. Isn't going to surprise anyone with a dropstep or dreamshake.

• Works hard to get post seals against smaller defender. Very deadly once his man is sealed off. Just too big, huge catch radius for lobs, dunks it right away. Wiseman's excellent ability to score off post seals will be a go-to way to beat switches.

• He's flashed the rare pass out of a double team, but generally not looking to pass in the post.

Wiseman projects as a decent post player in the NBA because he's huge, gets good position, and has solid touch. But he's not creative or fluid enough to run an offense through. Importantly, Wiseman will beat switches with his excellent post seals. He's too large and too good at carving out position to put a smaller defender on him. Wiseman can improve his post play by continuing to reduce the volume of fadeaways and by getting stronger in his lower body, so that he gets better position.

Sprints hard into postup. Should have gotten deeper position, but shows the shooting touch:

Great seal in post. So easy when he gets position:

Left hand over right shoulder post score:

Offensive Rebounder

• Good offensive rebounder.

• Hard to dislodge when he's in paint.

• Not the best leaper in traffic but has so much length that he still gets plenty of tip-ins.

• Doesn't use absolutely ferocious tenacity on offensive glass, but certainly competes.

• Must improve at not bringing ball down after grabbing a board.

Hard to keep off the offensive glass when he gets position in paint (but notice bad tendency to bring ball down):

Shooting

• Mixed shooting indicators.

• Too small of sample size to look at statistical indicators.

• But is at least very willing to shoot. Will take a couple of pick-and-pop shots (including out to 3pt line) a game.

• As mentioned earlier, likes fadeaways. Needs to get away from these.

• Considering he's 7'1, the ball looks reasonably soft coming out of his hands.

• I'm not in love with his form: brings the ball far back behind his head, shoots a little tilted, shoulders not squared up to basket. But his mechanics are reasonably consistent, and nothing looks broken in the lower body.

Wiseman's shooting is far from a guarantee, but he's a better shooter than most 7'1 freshman bigs. He should shoot at least as well Joel Embiid in the NBA, but I'd be shocked if he ever got to the level of bigs like Marc Gasol or Brook Lopez. I project Wiseman as taking the occasional pick-and-pop shot that keeps the defense honest, but not someone who will bomb from 3 throughout the game.

Misses the face-up 3 here:

Can hit the fadeaway, but goes to it too often:

Handle

• Not someone who should take more than 1 dribble.

• Lacks the fluidity, control to take multiple dribbles.

• At risk of turning ball over.

• But when Wiseman is already on the move, I don't mind 1 dribble from him.

• Very long strider. 1 dribble takes him far. Can step around some defenders.

• Pretty fluid going from a dribble into a layup.

• Looks most comfortable going right with his first dribble.

Wiseman's should not dribble a lot, and he's won't break many players down off the dribble, but he's a better dribbler than players like Deandre Jordan, and Wiseman can be effective with a single dribble (especially when he's diving towards the basket).

Passing

• Poor passer.

• Looked off teammates in high school. Didn't see basic reads.

• Minor flashes of passing out of post with his left hand. I've seen him hit weakside corner. But rare occurrence. Not a skill to count on.

• In college, Wiseman wasn't put in situations where he needed to pass.

• Unlikely to make passes out of the short roll. Although, if Wiseman has lots of gravity as a roller, it's possible he can learn some basic reads.

Pick and Roll Offense

• Wiseman projects as an excellent PNR player.

• Excellent dive man. Gets from screen to basket quickly, picks up momentum rapidly.

• Huge catch radius for lobs. Really easy to find on the roll.

• Pretty fluid finishing off the roll.

• Very good screener. Makes solid contact. Uses a wide base. Doesn't slip screens every play, tries to hit defensive player.

• As discussed, some potential as a pick and pop player, although not something to count on.

• Probably won't play-make out of PNR. Unlikely to be dominant at short-roll passing. Projects as a finisher.

Due to Wiseman's excellent screen setting and finishing, he projects as a strong PNR player, which is very valuable for the PNR-centric NBA. Wiseman's unlikely to be a great PNP or short-roll passer, so his overall PNR utility may diminish in the playoffs.

Great screen, gives his guard lane to rim:

Makes good contact on his screen then hits the POP:

Textbook screen and roll:

Creation, Overall Offensive Outlook

• Not a creator. Won't create high-efficiency offense for himself or others. Not a dominant post player, not a face-up athleticism player, not a premier passer, too willing to settle for short fadeaways.

• However, Wiseman's dominant rim running should compliment the offense of any team with a good PNR point guard and shooting (which is most NBA teams).

• Because Wiseman's unlikely to be a threatening shooter, he likely necessitates having four other shooters on the floor. Not a fatal flaw, but it limits the versatility of his teams.

Creates layup for his teammate because he rim runs hard:

Faces up and hits running hook here, but don't want to rely on his postups for efficient offense:

Rim Protection

• Huge block radius when he loads up. Can engage with a post-player and then quickly get to the other side of the court to block a guard's shot. 7'1; 7'6 wingspan, 9'3.5 standing reach. Lots of length to work with.

• Requires some load time to get up high. Doesn't get off ground as quickly as someone like Anthony Davis.

• Even when he doesn't get a ton of lift off the ground, his length still swallows other players up (including bigs). Gets some Tim-Duncan style blocks where he barely jumps. Has ok second jump too. Doesn't get up that explosively, but gets up high & fast enough to let his length play. Has "block party" sequences.

• Uses good verticality in the sense he goes straight up initially and gets his chest into offensive players. Chases blocks, so he swipes down too much. Must keep himself out of foul trouble.

• Alters shots even when he doesn't block them. Offensive players are very concerned with his length and launch wild shots to avoid him.

• Even alters floaters and mid-range pullups. Closes distance quickly with his length.

• Solid rim protection instincts. Gets from one side of paint to the other quickly. Usually locked in. Tracks ball well. Good sense of timing.

• Already has enough heft to hold position and not have offensive players go right through. This will only improve with more strength gains in the NBA.

• Far too jumpy on pumpfakes. Fouls or gets himself out of position. Must learn to stay down. Has the length to swallow offensive players up. Doesn't need to jump on everything.

• Especially in high school had tendency to chase blocks he couldn't get to and get out of position. This improved in college but is still somewhat of an issue.

Wiseman has all the tools to be an excellent rim protector in the NBA, and he is already a good rim protector. His length swallows offensive players up, and his presence alone alters shots. Wiseman can become an excellent rim protector by improving his discipline and not going for as many pumpfakes. This should come in time.

Intimidates NBA prospect Josh Green into wild floater:

Good verticality here:

Big block radius:

Has so much length that he doesn't need to get up crazy high to protect rim:

Pick and Roll Defense

• Could be a good PNR defender in the right system, but Wiseman has significant weaknesses NBA teams must account for.

• Projects best in drop coverages. Takes up a lot of space when he keeps his arms and hands up. Can challenge floaters and midrangers - covers ground quickly on contests.

• Solid flashes in ICE coverage. Can give ballhandler a couple slides while keeping his arms up and out. Length helps him maintain a cushion of space.

• Sometimes when ballhandlers get by him in ICE he's still able to make a play with his length. Doesn't get torched so badly that he's eliminated from the play.

• Less effective in show and/or hedge coverages. His length and size can surprise and overwhelm ballhandlers, but Wiseman's just too slow recovering to the roll man. Wiseman's NBA team needs to limit the amount he moves in space.

• Across all coverages Wiseman struggles with positioning/angles. Tendency to get caught in no-man's land between a show and drop. Not up with ballhandler but not keeping defense in front either. Struggles keeping himself between ballhandler and man. Sets up too close to his man. Over prioritizes guarding his man (the screener).

• Across all coverages Wiseman will struggle with with guarding shooting bigs. Slow at containing the ballhandler and then recovering to his man.

Takes a poor angle and gets burned:

Bad angle here in having his body turned away from his man:

Not properly positioned, sticks too close to his man:

Great length to alter shots, even in drop:

Great job in drop, contains ballhandler, keeps track of his man:

Really nice work sliding feet in ICE, but ruins it with wild closeout on non-shooter:

Team defense, Guarding in space, closeouts

• Struggles with guarding in space.

• Can do a few slides with a guard but not anything more. Turns his hips too slowly/base is too wide to keep up with direction changes. However, Wiseman at least closes distance quickly for blocks with his length, so he can alter shots even when beat.

• Awareness issues. Sometimes forgets about guarding ball. Gets too focused on his man.

• Poor at closeouts. He'll have to just run shooters off the line. Not keeping a perimeter play in front. Doesn't turn his hips quick enough.

• Must improve at KYP. Leaps at non-shooters. Must be smart and only run at the true shooting threats.

Hard for him to keep quicker players in front in big space:

Can at least do a slide or two, his length helps him:

On-ball Defense

• Moves his feet well in post-defense. Not getting spun off. Stays light on feet, ready to move. Bit of a tendency to push with his forearm (not subtle). Must watch out for fouls.

• Too jumpy in post defense. Goes up on pump fakes. Gets himself out of position or fouls.

• Competes pretty hard in post but gets bumped back more than behemoths like Marc Gasol and Joel Embiid. Lower body could get stronger. But even when Wiseman gets bumped he can still alter shots thanks to his length.

• Pretty good at keeping arms high, ready to contest.

• Physical. Works to push offensive players off their spots.

• Usually sits down in stance when preparing to defend a switch. But sometimes gets too upright. And doesn't always slide properly. Gets his feet crossed.

• May struggle staying in front of the league's quickest faceup bigs (like Anthony Davis or Bam). Susceptible to players who can get inside him.

• Must keep hands up on switches.

Too jumpy defending post (and in general):

Defensive Rebounding

• Excellent defensive rebounder.

• Boxes out more diligently than most 5-star recruits. Sometimes guilty of boxing out too much (boxes out when he should just go up and get the rebound). Occasionally guilty of not jumping for the ball - overly preoccupied on fighting for position.

• Holds position well and holds off offensive rebounders.

Boxes out diligently (but need for more lower-body strength is apparent here):

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