The Golden State Warriors have sorely missed forward Andrew Wiggins this season, as he’s played only 37 games for the defending NBA champions.
Wiggins has missed considerable time during the 2022-23 campaign under uncertain and somewhat mysterious circumstances.
Fortunately for the Warriors, the team got some good news about arguably their best defensive player on Friday, with the NBA playoffs right around the corner.
According to Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report, Wiggins is indeed back in the Bay Area.
I’ve been told that Andrew Wiggins is back in the Bay Area. He had spent most of the recent weeks out of town.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) March 31, 2023
Here are some reactions to the news about Wiggins being back in the Bay Area ahead of the NBA playoffs:
“Andrew Wiggins is back in the Bay Area.” pic.twitter.com/0AIS0TkpFo
— Dennis (@dennis_k_g) March 31, 2023
Inject this into my VEINS
— Matt Lady (@mattlady) March 31, 2023
— CaptainNick (@SuzukiCaufield) March 31, 2023
Hope we meet Wighins in last home game with OKC. I want see his smile in a court pic.twitter.com/vXNeuWqe5f
— Rheeena (@Rheeena3) March 31, 2023
LETSSSS GOOOOOO
— wave.eth 🇸🇴👋🏾 (@TheRealGaashaan) March 31, 2023
THIS SOUNDS PROMISING
— caca (@urclownbb) March 31, 2023
This is a vague report and might not mean anything about Wiggins’ return to the basketball floor for Golden State.
However, if Wiggins is nearing his return, the Warriors will become that much more imposing heading into the playoffs.
Wiggins isn’t the game-changer that Stephen Curry is, but his defensive play and ability to be another solid offensive weapon make the defending champs a much better all-around team moving forward.
In the 37 games played this season, Wiggins averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting 47.3% from the floor and 39.6% from beyond the arc.
These are solid numbers across the board and something any playoff-bound team would want on their roster.
The real question will be whether Wiggins is genuinely ready to get back on the floor and how long it will take to brush off the rust from all the time he’s missed up to this point.
The Warriors are projected to face the Sacramento Kings in the first round.
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