Golden State Warriors: 3 ways Andrew Wiggins has made himself untradeable

Feb 6, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Why Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins is untradeable: His defense

Once considered a lazy defender, Wiggins is oftentimes drawing the opponent’s best offensive player.

While he isn’t the most emotion-filled player while on the court, he has done a great job taking some of the best players in the game out of their rhythm. Wiggins taking on the challenge has done a couple of things for Golden State.

For starters, it allows Draymond Green to play off the ball and help on other elite attackers. It also has consistently allowed the team’s backcourt to get a rest if the player is like Bradley Beal or James Harden.

To no one’s surprise considering how good Golden State has been on the defensive end, Wiggins’ defensive rating is a career-high level. Whether that can be sustained is another question, but the Warriors’ defense has been their strength, and it should continue to be.

Wiggins’ defensive field goal rate is 44.3%. Only 8 teams in the NBA shoot worse than that, which is a small testament to how good he’s been this season.