Getty Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins handles the ball during an NBA Finals bout with the Boston Celtics.
On Monday night, Andrew Wiggins dropped what was arguably the signature performance of his career to date. With Steph scuffling and the Golden State Warriors clanging shot after shot from deep, the former No. 1 overall pick carried his club to a crucial win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Logging 43 minutes of action, Wiggins scored a team-high 26 points while adding 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals, a block and zero turnovers. It was another big-time effort for a player who some thought could be in danger of ceding playoff minutes as he battled a midyear funk.
After the game, though, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wasn’t looking to give Wiggins his roses.
Instead, the hoops insider took the opportunity to harp on Golden State’s incredible spending prowess relative to the rest of the Association.
Windy Speaks Out on Warriors’ Payroll
In the immediate aftermath of the win — which gave Golden State a 3-2 edge in the championship series — Windhorst hopped onto SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. And while he took the C’s to task for failing to capitalize on the Dubs’ poor shooting night, he followed that up with a soliloquy on the team’s spending habits.
“They have a $340 million payroll when you consider taxes. You don’t just have to beat the Warriors on the court, you’ve got to beat their checkbook. Taking nothing away from Andrew Wiggins but this was a checkbook win for the Warriors,” Windhorst said.
He also took aim at Wiggins individually while putting out his thesis.
“Andrew Wiggins is not an underdog. He makes $32 million. While the Warriors were down these last couple of years, winning no games, they kept spending money because they’ve got it,” Windhorst said.
“They re-signed Draymond Green, they re-signed Steph Curry, they re-signed Kevon Looney. They kept Andrew Wiggins and, boy, did he show up tonight. Andrew Wiggins with the supreme moment of his career. He was the throw-in in a trade. Other teams would have totally gotten rid of him. They stuck with him.”
The latest Golden State Warriors news straight to your inbox! Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
Thing Is… He’s Not Wrong
Unsurprisingly, Dub Nation was having none of what Windhorst was serving up during his SportsCenter spot. Tweet after tweet responding to his comments referred to the fact that the Warriors’ core players were all drafted by the club. In fact, there’s nary a high-priced free agent on the roster.
Moreover, to say that Wiggins was little more than a trade “throw-in” is definitely a reach on the pundit’s part. However, he’s not exactly wrong about the team’s exorbitant spending.
Given their wild repeater tax bill, the Warriors are paying more to field their current roster than any team in league history. And while it’s true that the key cogs are largely homegrown talents and league rules allow for clubs to spend extra to keep their own guys, most GMs haven’t been given the same blank check that Myers has to do so.
READ NEXT: