Drawing All-Star attention, Andrew Wiggins needs no extra motivation in
return to Minnesota
Since Wiggins went off for 35 points and a posterizing dunk against his
former team in November, he's put together his best stretch of
basketball since joining the Warriors
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) passes the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the
first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) passes the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the
first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: January 16, 2022 at 2:21 p.m. | UPDATED: January 16, 2022 at
2:58 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/01/16/drawing-all-star-attention-andrew-wiggins-needs-no-extra-motivation-in-return-to-minnesota/

MINNEAPOLIS — By all accounts, Steph Curry hasn’t kept up his pledge to
text Andrew Wiggins that photo of him soaring over former teammate
Karl-Anthony Towns. He hasn’t had to; Wiggins has needed no extra
motivation to keep up the aggressive play on display against his former
team in their first meeting this season.

On Sunday, Wiggins returned to Target Center, where he spent the first
5½ years of his NBA career, along with his Warriors teammates for only
the second time, and the first time in front of more than a smattering
of fans. Wiggins has always performed well against his former teams, but
their last meeting brought something different out of him.

Wiggins has shot better than 50% from the field, better than 45% from 3
and averaged nearly 20 points per game since he exploded for 35 points —
and a posterization of Towns — in a November win, enough for him to
generate 1.8 million All-Star votes at last count, more than all Western
Conference players not named Steph, LeBron or Jokic. He has said that
game was the catalyst for his newfound confidence on offense.

With Klay Thomson back in the fold, Wiggins has been challenged —
personally and by coach Steve Kerr — to continue to find his spots, even
while the gravity of the offense shifts elsewhere. With Steph Curry and
Draymond Green out Sunday, Golden State was going to be reliant on the
duo of Thompson and Wiggins to generate points against the Timberwolves.

“We’re gonna be dangerous,” Wiggins said. “Everything we’re doing now is
preparing for the playoffs. … Just continue to be aggressive. Be
aggressive on offense and on defense. That’s what I’ve been trying to do
– just find different ways to help the team.”

When he was with the Timberwolves, it became a trope that Wiggins’ best
games would come against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted
him first overall and immediately traded him to Minnesota. Since the
Warriors swapped D’Angelo Russell for Wiggins and a first-round pick
(which turned into Jonathan Kuminga), the trend has continued against
Minnesota.

Wiggins’ career scoring average in 15 games against Cleveland (22.1) is
outdone only by his 26.0 points per game in four meetings with Minnesota
since joining the Warriors.

“You always like playing against your former teams,” Kerr said. “In an
82-game season, sometimes you need energy from a different source
because your body gets tired. I’m sure Wiggs gets up for Minnesota, but
most players in the league are just like that.”

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 10: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew
Wiggins (22) dunks over Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns (32)
in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Now, as he makes his first proper return in front of his former fanbase,
Wiggins is mounting an All-Star campaign — recognition he never got in
his five full seasons with the Timberwolves. But Wiggins said he doesn’t
feel the need to prove anything to anyone. The biggest difference with
the Warriors, he said, was the winning basketball and the culture it breeds.

“It was a good chapter in my life. I learned a lot. I had some good
memories here with some good people, and now I’m on to the next chapter,
that’s all it is,” Wiggins said. “It’s been fun basketball. Golden State
plays fun basketball. Most importantly we’re winning. When you’re
winning, you’re having fun and life’s good.”

The last time the Warriors visited Minnesota — Wiggins’ only other
experience as an opposing player at Target Center — came in front of
fewer than 2,000 fans with attendance restricted by public health rules
amid the pandemic.

That wasn’t the case Sunday, as thousands of fans were due to stream
into the arena (which doubled as shelter from the sub-freezing
temperatures outside) to witness Wiggins’ proper return.

With the interruptions caused by the pandemic, Wiggins said it feels
like it’s been longer than two years since he was traded. Towns is one
of the few players remaining from the last time Wiggins was in Minnesota.

>RELATED ARTICLES
Warriors’ slump sunk? Curry, Thompson light up from 3-point range in win
Warriors’ GM gives update on Draymond Green’s injury
Warriors rookie Kuminga will keep starting in place of injured
Draymond Green
Steph Curry, Klay Thompson splash again in Warriors’ big win vs. Pistons
‘Say Uyghurs!’ Warriors slammed for omitting group’s name in
statement on Chamath Palihapitya

“Hopefully he doesn’t try to get me back,” Wiggins said of Towns, the
victim of his ferocious dunk in their last meeting. “It’s always fun
coming back. … I feel like I’ve been gone for a long time.”

Curry, who wasn’t with the team in Minnesota after injuring his hand in
their previous game, said after Wiggins’ 35-point outing against his
former team that he would text Wiggins a photo of the ultimate highlight
from that game — his posterization of Towns — to bring that out of him
every night. The texts haven’t come, but Wiggins’ best stretch since
joining the Warriors has, anyway.

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.