If you think Andrew Wiggins is not thoroughly aware of his critics, you would be wrong.
If you think he does not have a competitive fire, he wants to burn you with it.
And if you think he does not care about his reputation that he is less than the sum of his gifts, you have not watched or listened.
After scoring a team-high 17 points and blocking a four-stroke career when the Warriors held off the Toronto Raptors for a 106-105 victory Sunday, Wiggins volunteered in an interview with the NBC Sports Bay Area admits what he wants to do to the image that has held on to him for most of his six-year career.
“I’m just trying to make a statement, you know?” he said. ‘Just try to change the story, come here and work hard and do what I have to do to win. And come after it defensively. ”
The story of Wiggins is and has been one of several inefficiencies in offense and indifference to defense. He brought it together last February, when he was acquired by the Warriors in a deal that sent D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
‘The statement Wiggins makes is that he’s not an inefficient low-calorie scorer. He shoots well, makes smart decisions and takes crucial shots – while defending so effectively that coaches and teammates stand in line to throw compliments on his own.
“He was incredible,” Steph Curry said Sunday. “He took on the challenges in the 1-on-1 defense, being physical, using his length and just letting guys work.”
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After Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard defended in two of the 12 games in two games, Wiggins was awarded to Toronto forward Pascal Siakam on Sunday, who scored 25 points, most of which came on switches or when Wiggins from the floor was down.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr not only praised Wiggins’ defense, but also called it necessary for the team’s aspirations.
“We now have someone who can put us the best player on the opposing team, whether it’s Pascal Siakam, LeBron, Kawhi or Paul George,” Kerr said. “The ability to put Andrew on the kind of players to use his size and athleticism is really the key to our current roster setup.”
Andrew Wiggins as a defensive midfielder? This is a revelation. He moves to that realm.
Wiggins’ 15 blocked shots connect 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman to the team’s lead, and his 110.8 defensive rating is better than such defensive first players as Fred VanVleet of the Raptors and Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder – the same Luguentz Dort, who gave James Harden, passes last post-season.
While coaches and teammates, including the hugely impressive Draymond Green, attribute Wiggins, the seventh-year Canadian calls the environment that it has a positive effect on his entire game, especially his defense.
‘I feel like I’ve always played a good defense; I just feel like here the culture is different, ”he said. “Everything here is different, especially with the guys I have behind me. It’s not just me there in defense. We have Draymond, we have Steph, we have Kelly [Oubre Jr.] do a hell of a job. The guys behind me, I know they have my back and it’s great here. ”
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While Wiggins is great for his defense, his offense through ten games also puts holes in ‘the story’. He scored 17.5 points per game, shooting 43.3 percent off the field and 38.5 percent off the arc. The latter would be the best in his career.
“He comes along, integrates himself into the offense and finds his way,” Damion Lee said. “Defensively – not to say I did not know he could watch like that, I did not watch much of Minnesota unless we played it, but he certainly took on the challenge every night. For him, it’s big. He is a two-way player.
‘It would be nice to look forward to Andrew as a two-way player and when Klay [Thompson] will be back next year with another excellent two-way player out there. ”
On the Warriors organization chart, Lee is not general manager or CEO. But Bob Myers and Joe Lacob must like what they see of a man whose contract for the next three years amounts to almost $ 95 million.
If Wiggins keeps rising, he’s worth the money. His name may even disappear from the gossip of the NBA. And the new narrative is that the Warriors were shrewd to get him and visionaries to unlock his potential.