Andrew Wiggins eager for Warriors reunion, has ‘love’ for former team – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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MIAMI – The spotlight found Andrew Wiggins at a young age because of his supreme basketball talent. Everything that comes with that isn’t what Wiggins asked for. 

Wiggins is a man of few words. Not in a rude or standoffish way, but in a respectful manner. It’s who he is. Private and to himself, always extending his big smile Warriors fans fell in love with at the perfect time.

As Wiggins prepares to play the Warriors for the first time since being traded to the Miami Heat on Feb. 6 for Jimmy Butler, he doesn’t have a long answer of reflection. He knows how he feels about his five-plus seasons with the Warriors and vice versa. Wiggins didn’t want to leave the Warriors, and a line of people within the organization fought for him to stay. 

That’s how the business goes sometimes. That also doesn’t change the love Wiggins still has for the Warriors. Those feelings, as cliché as they sound, never will go away from either side.

“I had a great time there,” Wiggins said to NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive interview Tuesday morning, hours before the Heat play the Warriors at Kaseya Center. “I love and appreciate everybody. Great fans. My teammates were great, the coaching staff was great. The city, meeting new people and building new relationships. I had a great time.

“Great time. Great time with the organization.” 

He won Rookie of the Year in 2015. He has been an All-Star, and a key player to a championship team. The path first laid out for Wiggins after being the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft also never was a straight line to success from the start. 

Twists and turns were placed upon him without his doing. Rumors swirled that his bags would be packed before even being selected with the first pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers after it was announced LeBron James was coming home. Wiggins couldn’t settle in and call Cleveland home. 

Minnesota became home two months later for the…

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Publish date : 2025-03-25 10:50:00

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