Report: Warriors' Andrew Wiggins to return 'early this week' after 21 missed games
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins has been away from the team since February 13. But his return is drawing closer. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Wiggins is expected to return to the Warriors "early this week."
Wiggins has missed 21 games while attending to a family matter. No further details were disclosed during his absence. According to a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania, his father Mitchell Wiggins "has been dealing with dealing with a serious medical situation."
The news of Wiggins' potential return comes as the defending champions hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference with three more games in the team's regular season.
The Warriors have two games this week. According to Charania, Wiggins plans to "attend" the Warriors matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Golden State will travel to Sacramento to face the Kings on Friday.
On Tuesday, Stephen Curry responded to questions about Wiggins' status following a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
“We’d love to have him and hope that that does happen (his return). We want to be whole and I'm sure that he wants to be a part of this," Curry said. "But when he walks through the door is when it’ll be the right time.”
Curry added that he didn't keep in regular contact with Wiggins, opting to give him space instead.
Steph Curry on Andrew Wiggins: “We’d love to have him and hope that that does happen…But when he walks through the door is when it’ll be the right time.”
He said he hasn’t been in regular contact with Wiggins. Giving him space. pic.twitter.com/VgveA17uMO— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 29, 2023
The 28-year-old was an All-Star last season and averaged 17.2 points per game while shooting 39.3% from 3-point range for the Warriors. He and Golden State agreed on a four-year, $109 million contract extension before the start of this season.
Wiggins picked up right where he left off this season. In the 37 games before his leave, he was averaging 17.1 points, 5 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 39.6% from 3 and 47.3% from the field.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday that Wiggins "has been working out everyday" and "training on his own" to maintain his conditioning.
