Even the Golden State Warriors are surprised by Andrew Wiggins eruption

The Golden State Warriors have watched Stephen Curry captain them to a 3-2 NBA Finals lead.

Curry is the strong favorite for Finals MVP, and while he’s more than deserving of the award, there have been other players stepping up and making an invaluable impact for the Dubs. Gary Payton II is one of them, as is center Kevon Looney.

The Golden State Warriors are up 3-2 in the NBA Finals, and Andrew Wiggins has been a huge reason why. Even Steve Kerr is impressed.

One player that is named often and has been equally as strong offensively as he has been defensively is Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was a former No. 1 overall pick and acquired via trade from Minnesota in 2020.

Wiggins scored 27 against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals, but after that, his postseason-high is 26 points which came in a huge Game 5 victory, one in which the two-time MVP Curry struggled.

Wiggins missed all six of his three-point attempts but was 12-for-17 from within the arc.

“We knew we needed his athleticism and defense and his versatility. We had no idea that he would make this kind of contribution,” Kerr said via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews following his career-defining Game 5 performance.

Wiggins averaged 17.2 points per game during the regular season and has increased that to 18.4 per game in the Finals. His key improvements haven’t been as a volume scoring option for Golden State but rather as an efficient playmaker.

He shot 46.6% from the field during the regular season and is at 47.4% during the playoffs. Increasing your efficiency against teams playing as hard as they can is impressive and goes to show how far he’s come.

Wiggins has changed his league-wide image as a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer, and he’s become an instrumental part of the Dubs rotation. Wiggins is also started to make those that thought he wasn’t worth his contract eat their words.

Will still most assume he’s overpaid? Yes, but he’s starting to live up to the max contact Minnesota gave him. That’s what a good organization can do for you, and it’s made all the difference for Wiggins.

Expect him to have another large role as the Warriors try to close out Boston and win their fourth NBA Championship in eight seasons Thursday night.