SAN FRANCISCO — Although Andrew Wiggins wasn’t clear on whether he’d start Saturday in Game 1 of the Warriors Kings’ Western Conference playoff round, his position was pretty clear.
He’s willing to embrace either role, an act that highlights Stephen Curry’s leadership.
When asked about his situation Thursday, Wiggins told NBC Sports Bay Area that he doesn’t yet know if he will start or come off the bench.
“I’ll have to wait and see,” he said after training at the Chase Center. “But I would understand if (coach Steve Kerr) said he wanted me to come off the bench. I haven’t been here long, so I would understand. You can’t say anything about that.
“I mean, Steve came off the bench last year. What? Steve can do that, but I can’t?”
Wiggins grinned, which quickly developed into full-on laughter.
He paused, grinned again, then laughed so hard, presumably at the absurdity of anyone on the Golden State roster trying to justify prioritizing ego when a star player is willing to submerge his ego for the sake of the team.
The position of Curry, who entered the playoffs last season, was as questionable as Wiggins’ case this season. Curry missed four weeks after suffering a sprained ligament in his left foot on March 16, 2022. He was not cleared to play until April 15, one day before Game 1 of the first round against the Nuggets.
The MVP twice came off the bench and played 22 minutes. Curry was a backup for the first four games of the series, and finally returned to the starting lineup in Game 5, as the Warriors clinched the series.
However, Wiggins’ absence is twice as long as Curry’s. Wiggins last played on February 13. He’ll have missed 25 games and, on top of that, 62 days when he hits the field at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
Wiggins has squabbled at least four times over the past 10 days, and his teammates and coaches are happy with what they’ve seen.
“It didn’t really look like he was missing a step,” Carey said.
“He looked amazing,” Kevon Looney said after the team scrimmage on Wednesday.
“Andrew is looking great, feeling good, and ready to go,” Kerr said after a light session on Thursday.
There is one thing that dramatically sets Wiggins’ case apart from Carey’s. Curry has more experience coming off the bench, having done so several times early in his career and twice in the postseason before filling that role four times to start the most recent postseason.
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In eight NBA seasons, Wiggins played in 662 games (including the postseason) and every one of them was a starter.
If he comes off the bench on Saturday – and team sources say the decision is undetermined – it will cut short his personal and career-long career.
Wiggins just ignores the possibility of his line being picked up.
“Steve raised the bar,” he said. “I can’t get mad about that.”
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