Wiseman's favorite basketball movies have special meaning

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LAS VEGAS -- The fourth episode in the second season of "The Office" is titled "The Fire." It's all about, you guessed it, a fire occurring inside the office, one that the character Ryan Howard started -- as it's revealed after Dwight Schrute runs back into the smokey building to impress his boss, Michael Scott. 

Why does this matter? Once everyone is safely outside, Jim Halpert starts a game of Desert Island, first with three books one would bring while stranded and then five DVDs. Well, DVDs of movies. It's an easy conversation starter with an impossible answer. 

Most people can't narrow down their one favorite song, band or movie. What about one's favorite basketball movie, though? I asked that exact question to a handful of young Warriors in Las Vegas right before summer league games started and received a handful of answers. 

If you go with "Hoosiers," meh. You like the classics and were probably on your youth basketball coach's good side for a dynamite chest pass. Choose "Uncut Gems," and you're a certified psycho. Great movie, too. Say "White Men Can't Jump" without hesitation, and now we're going somewhere. 

Patrick Baldwin Jr., the Warriors' first-round pick from the 2022 NBA Draft, is a big fan of "Hustle," the Adam Sandler-led dramedy that hit Netflix two weeks before the draft. But he went with the quintessential childhood basketball movie that premiered nearly six years to the date before he was born. 

"For me, it's gotta be 'Space Jam,' " Baldwin said in July during our Dubs Talk interview. "It's a classic. I watched that when I was a kid, and I probably still watch it every once in a while. It's Space Jam, for sure."

And no, not whatever that was with LeBron James last year. 

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It took Warriors second-round pick Ryan Rollins a few moments of contemplation before going with "Above The Rim" and "He Got Game."

For myself, it didn't take me any time to get visually way too excited for "He Got Game" getting some love. 

Like Rollins, one of James Wiseman's favorite basketball movies also is "Above The Rim." His other favorite hasn't been mentioned yet, and it's great for more than just a perfect soundtrack. There also is true meaning behind the 21-year-old's picks. 

"I'd say 'Above The Rim' or 'Love & Basketball,' " Wiseman said. "It just shows you the adversity that every athlete goes through. Literally. It's relatable.

"Just going through that, going through college, experiencing everything, those two movies show you a lot about what the life of an athlete is, so to speak."

All the highs and lows of being an athlete, specifically a basketball player, are laid out in front of the audience throughout "Love & Basketball." From being 11 years old to being a pro, it's all there -- fighting for a scholarship, dealing with the pressure of having the spotlight on you, relationship and family drama, a devastating knee injury and yes, love. 

Maybe this past year-plus, Wiseman felt like Omar Epps' character Quincy McCall more than once. Especially after McCall tears his ACL as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors big man hasn't hid from the dark days of his torn meniscus that turned into a longer knee injury than anyone could have expected. He no longer was the man showered by flowers in flocks of fans.

As a freshman in high school, Wiseman already stood 6-foot-9 with many clamoring about his NBA future. After his sophomore year, he joined Penny Hardaway's Team Penny for the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) summer circuit. That's where things began to get sticky for the center.

Over the summer, Wiseman transferred to Memphis East High School where Hardaway was named the head coach. Then in November, Wiseman was ruled ineligible essentially for his prior connection to the former NBA star. Not even one month later, the ruling was overturned and Wiseman began a dominant junior campaign under Hardaway that saw him rise to the consensus No. 1 recruit in the nation. 

Despite Hardaway leaving Memphis East before Wiseman's senior year to be the head coach at the University of Memphis, Wiseman stayed and put together a historic final high school campaign where he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year. He then chose to team up with Hardaway again over playing for coach John Calipari at Kentucky, where things started to go downhill and he found himself in hot waters for his link to Hardaway. 

A shoulder injury held Wiseman out for a handful of exhibition games in the Bahamas. An ankle injury then forced him to miss Memphis' two preseason games. In his regular-season debut, Wiseman showed exactly why most experts saw him as the future No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, scoring 28 points with 11 rebounds and three blocks in only 22 minutes against South Carolina State. 

Three days later, he again was ruled ineligible and it again tied back to Hardaway -- this time for handing out more than a few pennies. Hardaway paid $11,500 to help Wiseman's family move to Memphis in 2017 to follow him at Memphis East. Wiseman's college career lasted only three games, and while questions surrounded him, the Warriors believed in his potential so much they still took him with the No. 2 pick. 

Like McCall, Wiseman was seen as a surefire NBA star long before that could become a reality. He has seen a whole lot in the last five years, and a whole lot before then. From his college debut on Nov. 5, 2019 to present day, Wiseman has only played 49 total games -- three in college, 39 in his rookie year with the Warriors, three in the G League and four in summer league. He has heard the noise, can still call himself a champion and even turned to writing music and rapping for both enjoyment and to improve his mental health. 

"It's very therapeutic just to write down my thoughts and my emotions and my feelings, and just to be vulnerable in my writing," Wiseman said. "And to not be afraid to express myself on paper. Just being able to do that and put it on paper, I relieved a lot of mental agony. 

"Just different stuff like that, mental hurdles. Putting it on paper made me feel way better."

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Finally fully healthy, Wiseman no longer is the 7-footer lurking in the shadows. He can slowly regain the spotlight at his own pace. His smile spans as long as the Bay Bridge even thinking about practice.

Adversity isn't temporary, it comes in waves. Sometimes it grows higher and higher before crashing down on you. Sometimes it trickles to your toes, never getting past that point. Wiseman doesn't have years of NBA experience yet. He's well-versed in the category of adversity, though, riding the highs and lows and navigating clear and murky waters. 

That now can be his latest power, pushing potential into production and more importantly, into peace.

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