Since joining the Golden State Warriors via trade in 2020, Andrew Wiggins has evolved into a perfect complementary player for Stephen Curry when the Canadian is fit, firing and at his best.
From a highly touted first overall pick over 10 years ago, Wiggins has settled into a comfortable role with the Warriors where he acts as the team's primary perimeter defender and often sits in an off-ball, catch-and-shoot role on offense. It's the role that won him a place as a surprise starter in the 2022 All-Star Game, before being the second-best player on Golden State's championship team later that season.
Steve Kerr has realized he needs more from his former All-Star forward
But to characterize Wiggins as simply a 3-and-D player is underselling his offensive talent and what he can provide this Warrior team. Over the past two games we've seen more of the go-to scorer that Wiggins was expected to be coming out of Kansas, and what we've seen periodically seen during his tenure in Golden State.
Why? Because Steve Kerr has realized that he has no other option. The Warrior offense has struggled enough as it is in the past 25 games, let alone without the injured Jonathan Kuminga who's missed the last seven games due to a significant ankle sprain suffered earlier in the month.
Kuminga was averaging nearly 25 points in the previous six games prior to his injury. That's heavy production Golden State need to replace, and no one on the roster aside from Wiggins possesses the athleticism and skillset in which to do so.
The 29-year-old has been incredibly important to his team's back-to-back wins. A late third-quarter burst without Stephen Curry on the floor was particularly notable against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Wiggins relentlessly attacking and getting to the free-throw line 12 times on his way to 24 points.
Then came a season-high 31 points against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, while also adding 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Kerr has realized that Wiggins needs to be involved more in the offense right now, even if it's not within the traditional Warrior style.
Small sample size sure, but over the last two games 31.6% of Wiggins' shots have come off zero dribbles. That's in comparison to 43.8% on the season. Conversely, his shot attempts after between 3-6 dribbles have rose from 24% to 36.8%. On the season he has two assisted made shots for every unassisted made shot, but has less assisted field goals (8) than unassisted (10) over the last two games.
Golden State have also gone to more to more post-up actions involving Wiggins over the past two games. He'd made just 11 of those baby hooks we see from time-to-time through the first 34 games, but made three alone in Saturday's game against the Wizards.
These are all statistics that prove that Kerr has realized he needs Wiggins as a shot-creator right now, rather than simply a skilled play-finisher. Credit also has to go to Wiggins for instilling that aggressiveness and taking advantage of the opportunity, something the Warriors will need more of as they prepare to face a tough test against the reigning champion Boston Celtics on Monday.