SAN FRANCISCO – More so than rising young up-and-comers Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, newcomers in De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield, or anybody else on the roster, Andrew Wiggins is without a doubt the biggest X-factor in the Warriors digging themselves out of the loaded Western Conference and rising back into contention.
There’s no questioning what Steph Curry still can do after his superhero performance in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Draymond Green, when locked in and available, still is one of basketball’s great minds and defensive players at 34 years old.
Wiggins upon becoming a Warrior at the 2020 trade deadline began erasing the reputation he created during his five-plus years with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a disappointment of a former No. 1 overall draft pick, turning into a 2022 NBA All-Star and being the second-best player on a championship team months later.
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After what undoubtedly was the worst season of his 10-year career, the Warriors are confident a “highly motivated” Wiggins is ready to put last year in the rearview mirror and prove detractors wrong again.
“I think he'd be the first to admit he didn't have his best season,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said Thursday at Chase Center. “Been in the gym all summer. Can just sense a little bit of a different vibe from him this time of year. His body looks great. He's in good shape, ready to go.”
While Wiggins has been back in the Bay Area for only a few days following the death of his father earlier this month, it didn’t take long for Steve Kerr to take notice of Wiggins on the court.
“He looks physically really fit,” Kerr said. “I think he also looks … just speaking with him, he sounds very motivated. He's very much at peace. I think he's in a place where he knows the last couple years have been tough for a lot of reasons, and I think he's primed to get back to where he was a couple years ago.
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“He's at the age where he's right in his physical prime, and we've seen him do it. He helped us win a championship. I'm expecting a big year from Wiggs.”
During his tenure in Minnesota, Wiggins played all 82 games three times and 81 games once. In his first two seasons with the Warriors, Wiggins played 71 and 73 games, but then only 37 in the 2022-23 season for personal reasons. While personal reasons played a part in Wiggins missing games last season, he also dealt with an ankle issue twice, as well as other physical ailments but still managed to play 71 games but only started 59.
From the middle of December to the beginning of January, Wiggins came off the bench in 10 consecutive games. Kerr then placed him back in the starting lineup against the Toronto Raptors, only for Wiggins to score three points in a 15-point loss. He was back to the bench the next game, a 29-point blowout loss against the New Orleans Pelicans, and was back to starting the rest of the way.
Throughout the season, Wiggins looked nothing like the player who was key to the Warriors winning their fourth title under Kerr two years ago. His scoring dipped to a career-low 13.2 points per game. His 35.8-percent 3-point percentage was his worst since joining the Warriors, and his 116.3 defensive rating was the worst among all Golden State players.
That’s a far cry from a player who put up 17.2 points per game and shot 39.3 percent from three in his All-Star campaign before then averaging 18.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the 2022 NBA Finals with a 103.4 defensive rating guarding the Boston Celtics’ star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Physically and mentally, that’s the Wiggins the Warriors expect to see again.
Who will be the Warriors’ second-leading scorer behind Curry this season now that Klay Thompson is wearing a Dallas Mavericks jersey is one of the biggest mysteries of the upcoming season, and Kerr appears to be pushing Wiggins to take the mantle, with some changes coming to the team’s offensive scheme.
“I think there's also a void that is left by Klay's absence that we need to fill,” Kerr said. “That's a lot of points to score.
“But it also means we have to rethink how we're doing things, and Wiggs will be featured for sure. He's a guy who's proven he's a 20-point-a-night guy, and we're going to be relying on him heavily.”
Confident quotes are a positive sign. They mean nothing until the talk is turned into production, starting one week from Saturday when the Warriors face the LA Clippers to open the preseason in Hawaii.