While the spotlight was shining on new MVP frontrunner Stephen Curry, it was Andrew Wiggins who stole the show on Wednesday as the Golden State Warriors logged their 10th win of the season. Wiggins had one of his best games in a Warriors uniform, which incidentally, came at the expense of his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Following Wiggins' 35-point explosion against his team, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch claimed that Wiggins “obviously has a personal vendetta” against his former squad. The Warriors star, however, was quick to play down the revenge narrative as he spoke to reporters after the game:
“No, not a revenge game, a well-played game against a former team,” Wiggins said, via ESPN. “A fun game. The game of basketball's fun. … Facing your former team is always one you wake up excited for.”
While Wiggins denied having any ill will against the Timberwolves, he did admit that he was very much looking forward to playing his former team. He clearly had some extra motivation entering this matchup, which translated to an eyebrow-raising performance on the court.
Wiggins, who was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent the first six years of his career in Minnesota. Especially towards the latter part of his time with the Timberwolves, the former Rookie of the Year received a ton of criticism for allegedly not being able to live up to the lofty expectations many had on him. Wiggins' tenure with the Wolves came to an end in 2020 via a blockbuster trade deal that sent D'Angelo Russell the other way.
Before Wednesday's matchup, Wiggins opened up about facing his old squad. He got brutally honest about how the trade to the Warriors came to fruition as he admitted that at that point in time, the Wolves had reached a dead end:
“It's basically like facing a whole new team,” Wiggins said. “Something had to be done, just the way everything was going. The way things were, we knew changes were coming eventually. I feel like it worked out for both teams.”
On Wednesday, though, Wiggins made sure to remind the Timberwolves what they were missing. He also had some tough love for ex-teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, who turned up on the wrong end of an emphatic Andrew Wiggins poster. When asked to talk about the disrespectful dunk, Wiggins once again played down any revenge talk:
“That’s my guy,” Wiggins said, noting it was better coming against Towns. “Oh, for sure. He got me last year, so I got him back.”
Wiggins is off to s a strong start for the Warriors, with the 26-year-old currently putting up averages of 17.4 points (on 47.3 percent shooting), 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, while also connecting on 1.8 triples per contest. Wiggins said that he just wants “to keep it rolling” and that from here on out, he's just “going to stay aggressive.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr clearly likes what he's been getting out of Wiggins thus far. The Dubs shot-caller had nothing but praise for Wiggins after Wednesday's strong performance:
“Andrew was just fantastic, the aggression from the beginning of the game, loved his energy,” Kerr said. “Obviously he was pretty excited to play against his old team. We needed everything he brought us tonight.”
The Warriors are now 10-1 and are in possession of the best record in the NBA. There's no denying that Andrew Wiggins has been integral to Golden State's success thus far, and he will be playing a key role for the team the rest of the way.
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