Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins faced the media for the first time since his father’s death and sitting out the team’s training camp in Hawaii because of illness.
Wiggins said he’s feeling better.
“I was able to go full practice,” Wiggins told reporters following their October 8 practice in the Bay Area.
The 29-year-old former All-Star confirmed he will not play against the Sacramento Kings in the Warriors’ second preseason game on October 9. His status for the remainder of their preseason schedule is still up in the air.
“I’ll be going when I think I’m ready,” he said.
Wiggins was spotted working out with the team’s second unit: Kyle Anderson, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney.
“We were just getting our ones in,” Wiggins told reporters. “Working on our game. Iron sharpens iron. We’re there to make each other better.”
Wiggins is coming off a tumultuous season in which he averaged a career-low 13.6 points and was demoted to the bench for the first time in his career.
Andrew Wiggins Expected to Bounce Back
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is counting on Wiggins to have a redemption season and emerge as the team’s No. 2 scorer behind superstar Stephen Curry in the wake of Klay Thompson‘s departure.
“I’m expecting a big year from [Wiggins] and I think there’s also a void that is left by Klay’s absence that we need to fill,” Kerr said of Wiggins on September 26 during the Warriors’ Media Day. “That’s a lot of points to score, but it also means we have to rethink how we’re doing things, and [Wiggins] 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.”
Wiggins was the Warriors’ second-best player when they beat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Kerr hopes he can get that version of Wiggins back this season. To prepare for this season, Wiggins skipped joining Canada in their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign.
“He’s been in the gym all summer,” Warriors general manager Dunleavy said during the team’s media day. “[I] Can just sense a little bit different vibe from him this time of year. His body looks great. He’s been through a lot personally, but as far as the basketball part of it, I think he’s in a good spot. We’re optimistic he’s going to have a great season.”
Andrew Wiggins is ‘Very Much at Peace’
The Warriors are optimistic Wiggins can now focus on basketball after his off-court distraction has come to a peaceful resolution this offseason.
His father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, passed away in September after several years of battling an undisclosed serious medical condition.
Wiggins’ mysterious absences were tied to his father’s battling sickness at the time.
Shams Charania, formerly of The Athletic, reported in 2022 that Wiggin’s father has been dealing with a serious medical condition, which explained the Warriors forward’s mysterious personal absences over the past two seasons.
Wiggins missed two months of the 2022-23 NBA season, then missed another four games last season. He also He canceled a business trip to China this offseason due to a family emergency, which was surmised to be related to his father’s medical condition.
“He looks physically really fit,” Kerr said of Wiggins during the team’s media day. “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 of years have been tough for a lot of reasons, and I think he’s primed to get back to where he was a couple of years ago. 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.”
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
