It was a year ago this month that Golden State Warriors star forward Andrew Wiggins left the team for personal reasons.
The then-defending NBA champions were tight lipped about Wiggins’ absence, indicating that it was a personal matter. No one within the organization leaked why Wiggins left the team. A hero in their run to the NBA title in the Summer of 2022, Wiggins missed the final 25 regular-season games before returning to open the playoffs.
It now looks like something similar is happening. Wiggins missed Tuesday’s win over the Washington Wizards with what the team described as “personal reasons.” He’s now also been ruled out for Thursday’s outing against the New York Knicks in the Big Apple.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr could not put a date on Wiggins’ return to the team, only indicating that they expect it at some point this season.
“Wiggs is dealing with a personal matter. We do expect him to be back but we just don’t exactly know when,” Kerr said on Wednesday, via 95.7 The Game.
There is no point in speculating about the reason for Wiggins’ most-recent absence from the Warriors. It’s just interesting that we’ve now seen it for a second consecutive season.
Related: Golden State Warriors standing in Sportsnaut’s NBA power rankings
Andrew Wiggins stats (2023-24): 12.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 46% shooting, 35% 3-point
Wiggins, 29, is in the midst of a down season for the mediocre Warriors. Over the course of the past three seasons in Golden State, he averaged 17.7 points to go with 4.7 rebounds on 39% shooting from distance.
From an on-court perspective, Golden State currently finds itself at 30-27 and as the ninth seed in the Western Conference. It is 3.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns in the race to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
In addition to his overall numbers, Wiggins is among the best wing defenders in the game. Depending on how long the absence lasts, it’s going to have an impact on the Warriors. Expect youngsters Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody to take on larger roles.