Golden State Warriors Basketball is back. With the 2023-24 NBA Season kicking off tonight, the Warriors are hosting the Phoenix Suns for Opening Night. During the game, the announcers talked about the time Andrew Wiggins missed last season. Here’s what happened:
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Wiggins had an impressive All-Star year during the 2021-22 season, which saw him be the 2nd best player on the Championship team. However, the 2022-23 season was nowhere near as kind to Wiggins. Wiggins was away from the game for over 2 months, during which time, there was no definitive answer for his absence.
When Andrew Wiggins returned in April, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Wiggins’ 22-game absence was due to his father, Mitchell Wiggins. The former NBA Player was going through a ‘serious medical situation.’
Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins plans to attend Warriors-Thunder on Tuesday. The reason for Wiggins’ leave of absence since mid-February is that his father, Mitchell Wiggins, has been dealing with a serious medical situation, sources close to the situation say. 🙏🏽
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2023
Since then, Wiggins talked about how it was crucial for him to be with his family and how family comes first.
Andrew Wiggins opens up about making the decision to leave the team and why he felt comfortable to come back now pic.twitter.com/6p8fD8hgl6
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 5, 2023
However, during that time, there were nasty cheating rumors surrounding the 2022 All-Star circulating as well. They claimed that Wiggins’ long-time partner cheated on him with his best friend. Despite Mychal Johnson denying the rumors, the vicious people of social media did not stop.
Literally the farthest thing from the truth. It’s sad y’all even doing this.
— Mychal Johnson (@mycoool_) March 17, 2023
While Wiggins did not respond to the rumors, his return from the 22-game absence and his dad’s news silenced all of them.
How did other Warriors react to Andrew Wiggins’ return?
Wiggins last played a game for the Warriors around Feb 13. He returned and took the floor for the first time in Game 1 of the Western Conference Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings on April 17. After not playing for 2 months and jumping straight into a playoff atmosphere was not easy.
Here’s what Stephen Curry had to say:
“The one thing you do have is the experience of knowing what that atmosphere is… You can go into the memory of it on what to expect and build confidence.”
Steph Curry on returning from a long absence and jump right into Playoffs like Andrew Wiggins.pic.twitter.com/87FWwfZETF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 16, 2023
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson kept it to the point and said,
“I’m so proud of (Andrew Wiggins) Wiggs… I’m so grateful he’s back.”
Steve Kerr was glad to have his 2-way star back, and was proud of what Wiggins put up in his 17-point performance in Game 1.
Steve Kerr loved what he saw from Wiggs tonight pic.twitter.com/shEAU7pbiz
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 16, 2023
Wiggins struggled a bit in the 2023 playoffs, which was expected. He averaged just 16.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. However, he’s back, and he’s ready for the 2023-24 season. We’ll have to see how he handles the challenge.
