NBA’s Golden State Warriors ‘expecting a big year’ from former Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins

The NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who lost Klay Thompson to free agency on July 6, did not go shopping for a replacement for the team’s second scoring option behind superstar Steph Curry.

Instead, Warriors coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy expressed confidence that one of the players on the current roster — 29-year-old former Kansas wing Andrew Wiggins — could ably fill in for Thompson, who is now with the Dallas Mavericks.

Wiggins is coming off a down year, one in which he averaged 13.2 points a game off 45.3% shooting, 35.8% from 3. He had averaged 17.2 points a game for the NBA champion Warriors in 2021-22 and 17.1 ppg in 2022-23. During the title season of 21-22, he made 46.6% of his shots overall, including 39.3% of his 3s.

“He looks really physically fit. He sounds very motivated, very much at peace. I think he’s in a place where he knows the last couple years have been tough for a lot of reasons. I think he’s primed to get back to where he was a couple years ago. I’m expecting a big year from ‘Wiggs,’” Kerr said during a Warriors Media Day news conference on Sept. 30.

“He’s at the age where he’s right in his physical prime and we’ve seen him do it. He helped us win a championship,” Kerr added.

Wiggins has had a heavy heart the past two seasons while supporting his dad, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, who died after a long illness Sept. 13 at the age of 64.

“I think he would be the first to admit he didn’t have his best season,” Warriors GM Dunleavy said last week in an interview with nbcsportsbayarea.com. “He’s been in the gym all summer. You can just sense a little bit of a different vibe from him this time of year. His body looks great. He’s in good shape, ready to go.”

Wiggins, who was granted a leave of absence from the team last February, has never publicly discussed his dad’s medical situation. At the team’s media day he did address his frame of mind entering the 2024-25 campaign.

“I’m very motivated. I’ve just been working hard this summer, trying to put myself in the best possible position to do well. I’m just ready to get started and get it going,” Wiggins said prior to heading to Hawaii with the team for the first week of training camp.

He missed a few days of practice and has missed two exhibition games (he also has been ruled out for Friday’s game against Sacramento) while battling an undisclosed illness. He was able to shoot on the side while wearing a mask during the recent practices he missed.

Kerr told reporters Thursday that Wiggins has returned to practice but has not participated in full-court scrimmages. It’s possible he’ll be ready to go in the team’s final two exhibitions.

“We’ve still got some time before the regular season starts and I’m back in practice now and going through everything,” Wiggins said at a Warriors media availability on Tuesday. “I was watching from the sidelines a lot in Hawaii, so it wasn’t like I was getting left behind or anything like that.”

Wiggins said over the summer he worked on “getting my conditioning right — shooting, ball handling, decision-making, just getting stronger.”

The Toronto native was unable to play for Team Canada in the 2024 Paris Olympics after suffering an ankle sprain which forced him to miss his national team’s training camp.

“Stay competitive, stay on top of my game, stay motivated. And every time I go on the court just believe in what I can do,” said Wiggins, who is well aware the team needs his offense this season.

Kerr has said publicly he’d like Wiggins to attempt at least six 3s a game.

“It’s going to be different for sure, on and off the court. Klay is a big presence, and when you think about Golden State, you think about Klay, you think about Steph, you think about Draymond (Green). I feel like he’ll always be that guy. We are all going to miss him and we know he’s going to do great great things over there (in Dallas),” Wiggins said of Thompson.

Wiggins said it’s important he focuses on “getting downhill. More 3s. Just you know, being involved in the offense, whether it’s coming to me, whether I’m initiating something. It could be a lot of different things.”

Wiggins said he’s at his best offensively when he takes “good shots. Aggression … when I’m aggressive, I get to the basket and good things happen.”

Wiggins is one of the Warriors’ top defensive players.

“We are always going to need Wiggs’ size and length on the perimeter defensively,” Kerr said. “Depending on matchups he could be on the point guard, the high scoring wing player. That’s the beauty of Wiggs’ size and athleticism. You can put him on a lot of different people.”

Back to offense … “I think there’s a void that is left by Klay’s absence that we need to fill,” Kerr said of Thompson’s 17.9 points per game in 2023-24. “That’s a lot of points to score.

“But it also means we have to rethink how we’re doing things and Wiggs’ will be featured for sure. He’s a guy who’s proven he’s a 20-point-a-night guy, and we’re going to be relying on him heavily.”

As the league’s rookie of the year in 2014-15, Wiggins, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has been named an All-Star just one time. The All-Star Game is hosted by the Warriors this season in Chase Center in San Francisco.

“That would be amazing. I’m going to strive for that, work hard and do what I can to hopefully get there. Just got to stay consistent, stay on it,” Wiggins said of what he needs to do to be named to that team.

Of the confidence his teammates, coach and GM have shown in him, he said Tuesday: “I’ve heard it. It’s great to hear. I’ve been putting in a lot of work this summer. I’m glad to hear that coming from Mike and Steve, two very important guys in the organization. It motivates me to work even harder.”