The Golden State Warriors are now one win away from their fourth NBA championship in eight years with a 104-94 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
How were they able to do so when Stephen Curry went a dreadful 7-of-22 from the floor and 0-of-9 from 3-point range?
Andrew Wiggins picked up the slack.
The former number one pick in the NBA Draft went 12-of-23 from the field and scored 26 points, to go along with 13 rebounds to pace the Warriors in both categories.
andrew wiggins can fly. pic.twitter.com/RdH2c3p84E
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 14, 2022
The Boston Celtics simply had no answer for Wiggins, as he helped Golden State gain separation in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Thing is, Wiggins has been a big key for the Warriors all series long.
Wiggins Has Gone From A Punching Bag To An Integral Piece Of A Potential Dynasty
In his early years in the NBA, Wiggins was one of the best players on a young Minnesota Timberwolves team that was looking to build something respectable.
He was a good player, but he had a reputation as a one-dimensional scorer who was inefficient.
A few years ago, then-teammate Jimmy Butler chastised Wiggins, calling him “soft” during an intra-squad scrimmage.
Midway through the 2019-20 campaign, Wiggins was traded to the Warriors, and as they looked to reform a once-great team following injuries to Curry and Klay Thompson, he looked like the odd man out.
The Warriors won three rings with defense, fast-break basketball, and elite 3-point shooting, and while Wiggins could run the floor and finish strong, he was regarded as a lackadaisical defender, and he had never shot better than 36 percent from 3-point range for an entire season.
Some felt they should trade him for someone who could be the final piece of the puzzle.
But to Wiggins’ credit, he shored up his weaknesses, and he has now become a player who head coach Steve Kerr cannot do without.
This season, he shot a career-high 39.3 percent from downtown, averaged 17.2 points per game, and started for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game.
He Has Been A Thorn In The Celtics’ Side
Often times in a championship series, it’s not the winning team’s two biggest stars that make the difference, but a role or complementary player who ends up burying the losing team.
So far, Wiggins has been that man in these NBA Finals.
He had 20 points and three blocked shots in Game 1 (albeit in a loss), and in the Warriors’ pivotal Game 4 victory, he grabbed 16 rebounds.
It hasn’t necessarily always been Wiggins’ offense that has boosted Golden State in this series, but his overall game.
Underrated part about this Curry shot:
Everyone is standing and staring at the ball…except for one guy who’s sprinting to get the potential rebound.
These things don’t get unnoticed @22wiggins
pic.twitter.com/75NbnvTQbi— Guru (@DrGuru_) June 11, 2022
The Celtics are basically a two-horse gang offensively with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but the Warriors are multifaceted when it comes to their attack.
It’s not just Curry and Thompson, as it was won they got their first ring in 2015, but now they also have Wiggins, not to mention Jordan Poole, who had 14 points in 14 minutes on Monday.
Thanks to Wiggins, the Warriors have gone from the brink of disaster in Game 5 to the brink of yet another world championship.
NEXT: Steph Curry Comments On Draymond Green's Finals Performance