Rookie James Wiseman is the latest Warrior to succumb to the injury bug
The hurts keep comin' for the Golden State Warriors.
James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, left Saturday's contest against the Houston Rockets because of a right knee injury.
On Sunday, Golden State's fears were confirmed when his diagnosis was officially reported as a meniscus tear, which could sideline the 20-year-old big man for the rest of the regular season.
If Wiseman is indeed out for the remainder of the year, two of the top three picks in last year's draft will have suffered season-ending injuries before completing their rookie campaigns, with No. 3 pick LaMelo Ball fracturing his wrist in March.
The more disturbing trend has nothing to do with rookies being injured. It's the misfortune the Golden State franchise has faced, as the Warriors have come crashing down after sitting near the top of the NBA world for five seasons.
The Warriors made five consecutive runs to the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning in '15, '17 and '18.
Chances are they would have won a third straight title in 2019 if disaster hadn't struck.
In Game 5, Kevin Durant tore his right Achilles tendon. In Game 6, Klay Thompson tore his left ACL.
The Warriors fell to the Toronto Raptors in six games, and that offseason, Durant bolted to Brooklyn, where he sat out the entire 2019-20 season.
Thompson also missed the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from the ACL tear, but the Warriors still had Steph Curry and Draymond Green and expected to at least compete in the West.
However, those dreams were quickly dashed when Curry broke his left hand four games into the season.
Curry missed 60 of the Warriors' 65 games in the COVID-19-shortened season, and Golden State posted a 15-50 record, fourth-worst in franchise history in terms of winning percentage (.231).
The silver lining was that with that abysmal record, the Warriors earned a high draft pick in 2020, and both Thompson and Curry had time to return completely healthy.
That pick ended up being Wiseman, who so far this season is averaging 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes.
Sadly for the Warriors and the NBA world, the injury bug struck Thompson once again prior to this season, as he tore his right Achilles tendon in November.
Thompson is out for the entire 2020-21 season. If he comes back healthy to begin next season, he will have missed 137 regular-season games since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
In 2019-20, Curry and Thompson were two of nine players to miss 60 or more games, in addition to former teammate Durant.
This season, Thompson will be one of a handful of players to miss the entire season, and now Wiseman, who already missed 14 games due to a wrist injury and the league's health and safety protocols, could end up missing more than 30 games.
There is still a silver lining, even if the Warriors are without Wiseman and struggle down the stretch. As of Sunday afternoon, they sit at 25-28, 10th in the Western Conference and 18th in the league. They are projected to have the 13th pick in this year's draft, but that could move higher.
In addition, Golden State owns Minnesota's pick, but it's top-three-protected, which means that if the Timberwolves land a top-three selection this season, they get to keep it, and the Warriors would instead receive the Wolves' pick next year.
Minnesota figures to land a high pick, considering it currently has the worst record in the NBA (13-40). But if the Wolves land at No. 4 or lower, the Warriors will take it.
Injuries are part of the game, but at this point, Golden State is surely wishing it could catch a break of the good kind.
But as long as Curry, Thompson, the future version of Wiseman and this year's potentially high draft pick are in the mix, there will always be hope in the Bay Area.
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