For nearly three months, the Golden State Warriors have been without Andrew Wiggins. The man who played an enormous role in helping Golden State secure a fourth title in eight years last season has been out due to a personal matter, missing 21 games in the process.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, his leave ends, with near-imminent effect. Wojnarowski reported Monday that the star wing will be back with the team early this week, as soon as the next 24 hours.
Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Wiggins will attend the Warriors’ home contest with the Thunder on Tuesday. The report doesn’t clarify if he will play.
He revealed the cause for Wiggins’ absence as a “serious medical situation” with his father, Mitchell Wiggins.
It is currently unclear whether he’ll play in any or all of the team’s final three games. Steve Kerr has said the team will evaluate his conditioning once he returns to the team.
There was major uncertainty about whether Wiggins would return at all this season. He left the team the game before the All-Star Break, and it was initially suspected that he’d return relatively quickly.
As his absence has drawn on, the assuredness of his return evaporated. The lack of his presence has been obvious as Golden State has struggled to match up with some larger, wing-heavy teams, and resulted in some losses that, with him available, may have been wins.
Without Wiggins, it was hard to see the Warriors as legitimate title contenders. With him back — in a season he’s averaging 17.1 points (40 percent from 3), 5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game — much like last season, anything seems possible for this team.
His performance in the playoffs last season was masterful, and he signed signed a four-year, $109 million deal with Golden State this offseason that was well below his market value. It averages $27.25 million a year in a market that could have offered him a max contract north of $37 million per year.
There are, however, major impediments for this team in the final week of the season and into the playoffs even with him back.
The Warriors’ road woes — which were glaring with Wiggins — have been highlighted by a 9-30 record away from home. Their current, sixth-place standing means they likely won’t have home-court advantage at any point in the playoffs, assuming they avoid the play-in tournament in the final three games, two of which are away from home.
Despite all that, Wiggins’ return, along with Gary Payton II’s, makes Golden State a compelling playoff team once again — even if their road to a repeat is far more difficult than it was last year.