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Andrew Wiggins’ vaccine choice could have severe impact

By Peter O'Keefe

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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It was a point we knew would come. We just didn’t know which team it would affect and when.

After San Francisco and New York released covid vaccine mandates, questions were raised on what would happen to NBA players who were unwilling to roll up their sleeve and become vaccinated.

The Golden State Warriors are going to be thrust into an interesting predicament if Andrew Wiggins is unwilling to get the Covid-19 vaccination.

As of right now, Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is one of those players. With less than a month to the start of the NBA regular season, time is ticking on whether Wiggins will be allowed to play should his current vaccine stance continue.

According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, there’s a belief Wiggins will be granted an exemption from the league on the grounds of religious belief. However, this doesn’t exclude the city from banning him from playing home games.

If Wiggins can’t play at all or misses home games (the Warriors play nine of their first 12 games at Chase Center), it’ll be a severe blow for a team aiming to return to championship contention.

Despite ultimately missing the playoffs, Wiggins’ form and overall improvement was highly respected by Warriors fans last season.

With Klay Thompson set to return at some point this season, there’s optimism that Wiggins will sustain his quality of play and help the team return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

You can’t help but feel that the accrued respect may be diminished amongst some Warriors fans yearning for their team to reach previous heights.

The potential absence of Wiggins, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, would only exacerbate the current absence of Thompson, along with the likely delay of James Wiseman‘s season.

Unlike the injuries suffered by the latter two, this is an entirely avoidable situation.

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The question remains on what will happen, but there’s no doubt that concern will grow the longer this plays out. Let’s hope for a resolution one way or another over the next few weeks.

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