2-Way Wiggs still exists, can the Dubs get more out of him this season?
With the Golden State Warriors losing in the play-in tournament last season and then losing franchise legend Klay Thompson in the process, it’s clear that this team is undergoing a transformation from the Splash Bros-era to...something else?
Whatever that something else is, all Dub Nation can do is hope they’ll be competitive and vie for championships again in a new era of pro basketball that is doing all it can to leave the days of the Golden Empire behind. For those who are still hopeful that the Dubs can make their way back to the top of the mountain, they’ll have to look up and down this roster for signs of hope that aren’t just “Steph Curry make everyone go night night”.
I’ve taken a look at the best game from last year for every non-Curry Warrior for your viewing pleasure so that you can have something to have trust in going into next season. We Believe is what we do after all, ain’t it?
When Wiggins is at his best, the Warriors are absolutely a championship contender. At 6-foot-8 he has the length and wingspan to guard a variety of positions, and he has the athletic explosion to posterize anybody, anytime.
His availability due to personal reasons has been something that has kept him away from having a consistent impact wit the team, and sometimes it seems like he’s just not impacting the game consistently the way fans and his teammates would prefer.
How many times have we heard quotes from Dubs’ players asking Wiggs to be more assertive?
Draymond Green on Andrew Wiggins being aggressive/playing bully ball:
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 8, 2022
“That’s what we’ve been asking Wiggs to do all year. Two years, however long he’s been here.”
Steve Kerr on Andrew Wiggins struggles: “He’s just got to be aggressive… I have faith in Wiggs and I think he’s going to get this thing turned around.”
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) March 23, 2022
That’s why this November Wiggs performance against the eventual #1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder was a great example of why the Dubs invested heavily in Wiggins after their championship run in 2022, re-signing him to a 4-year, $109m contract.
He scored 31 points and was a +6 in 34 minutes in a game the Warriors were up double-digits in before blowing the lead late.
Andrew Wiggins told me after last game he felt much more like himself and he could sense something coming. He was right
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) November 19, 2023
