Andrew Wiggins is thankful and in good spirits after the Golden State Warriors granted him a needed personal space to pursue a family matter in his lengthy inactivity for the team.
The star forward took an indefinite leave of absence starting on Feb. 13 and only returned to the team in early April. It was determined that he attended to the urgent medical needs of his father, Mitchell Wiggins.
“In this organization, I feel like I’ve been blessed, just being here and all that time they gave me off to be with my family,” Wiggins told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “They didn’t have to do that, and they did it. And they didn’t rush me back. It was my decision to come back, so I just feel like that just says a lot about this organization. From my heart, I can say everyone here cares. This whole organization cares. There still can be a lot of good people out there. I’ll never forget that. A lot of teams aren’t doing that, so I’m forever grateful.”
Wiggins’ absence for their last 25 regular season games left a huge void in the two-way capabilities of the Dubs. Averaging 17.1 points, 5.0 boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals, the forward has been an integral piece in their hunt to defend their title. But thankfully, Golden State managed to cling to the altering Western Conference standings and evaded the Play-In Tournament.
He was only activated by the Warriors in their Game 1 first-round matchup against the Sacramento Kings. Albeit registering 17 points off the bench, he was rusty with that 7-of-16 shooting and missed the potential game-winning shot in crunch time.
“Mentally I’m good. I’m in a great place,” Wiggins said. “I’ve never been one to mentally not be all the way there or be off track. I try to stay pretty level-headed. What I missed the most was just competing, being out there with the team, playing in an environment like this. The fans are into it. The game is close. It’s playoff basketball.”
