Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images He’s only 29 folks! Happy birthday to Wiggs Happy Birthday to Wiggs Happy birthday dear Andrew The Dubs need you to do it big Andrew Wiggins turned 29 this week, making him the guy bridging the age gap between older Warriors core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to the younger prospects like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Brandin Podziemski. #DubNation Please join me wishing Andrew Wiggins happy birthdayHis numbers since getting traded to the Warriors (242 games):
16.8 PPG
4.6 RPG
2.2 APG
1.0 SPG
0.8 BPG
(47/38/68) shooting splits!
ENJOY THIS WIGGINS THREAD
pic.twitter.com/7GwhBSFOeA— WigginsMuse (@WigginsMuse22) February 23, 2024 Podz got Wiggs with the ice shower on his birthday pic.twitter.com/o8bVH5YWB2— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 24, 2024 Wiggins is a fascinating NBA story. A former #1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers who won Rookie of the Year after being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. One of the ultimate Wiggins’ career what-ifs is the real possibility that he could have played alongside LeBron James, a guy historically known for making his teammates better. Instead, Wiggins career stagnated in Minnesota, until people actually thought he was the worst basketball player in the league for the massive salary he was beig paid. Fortunately for him and Dub Nation, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors were he suddenly became an All-Star starter and an NBA champion in 2022. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HN2PKqVm4PE?rel=0&start=7
It’s amazing how important an environment is for success! Anyways, Wiggins hasn’t consistently been the same guy who the Warriors saw emerge as arguably their second best player in their most recent title run. In January the San Francisco Chronicle penned this report on Wiggins’ underwhelming play: Wiggins is averaging career lows in points (11.9), assists (1.5), 3-point percentage (29.6) and minutes (26.3). Opponents have outscored Golden State by 14.6 more points per 100 possessions with Wiggins on the floor than with him off it. In other words, a player due $30.1 million in his age-32 season in 2026-27 is perhaps the biggest reason the Warriors languish four games below .500. What makes all this so confounding is that Wiggins has offered no meaningful explanation for his premature decline. Twenty-three months ago, he started an All-Star Game. Just 19 months ago, he averaged 18.3 points on 44.6% shooting, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals over six games to help the Warriors outduel Boston in the Finals. Now, despite all indications that he’s healthy, Wiggins is one of the league’s worst rotation players. His true shooting percentage of 49.5 ranks 195th among the 199 players who qualify. Advanced analytics put Wiggins, who still should be in his prime at age 28, in the 23rd percentile offensively and seventh percentile defensively. This made him a prime target for trade chatter, as his large salary and spurts of dominant two-way play could be a tantalizing piece for a big-time transaction. But the Warriors stood pat, instead trusting that the Wiggins they have come to know and love will be there for them when they need him most. His recent play on the court reflects that, as he’s impacting the game on both ends in a positive manner. Andrew Wiggins might be back pic.twitter.com/R5fv2xYZwk— Alex (@Dubs408) February 24, 2024 Andrew Wiggins: “We’re all playing together. We’re playing the right way. We’re figuring something out that could be special.” pic.twitter.com/0Jfs3KUVaQ— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 23, 2024
Source: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/ ... ury-return