Getty Golden State Warriors stars Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry talk during a game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Golden State Warriors‘ 2022-23 season may have gotten off to an incredibly funky start — and not in a good way — but a handful of things are going really well for the team. For his part, Stephen Curry has been playing some of the best basketball of his career, which is saying something when you’re dealing with a GOAT candidate.
Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins has picked up right where he left off after an incredible, career-redeeming run in last year’s playoffs. However, as good as he has been on the court this season, his performance on Wednesday night against the LA Clippers was on a whole other level.
Over 32 minutes on the court against LAC, Wiggins dropped a team-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting, nailing six triples and adding four boards, three steals, two assists and zero turnovers along the way.
The former No. 1 pick’s latest gem, as well as his effort through the first month-plus of the campaign, sparked a debate on the ESPN broadcast of the game about whether Wiggins is worthy of another All-Star nod. Steph had a visceral reaction upon catching wind of the discussion.
Steph Gets Surly About Andrew Wiggins Debate
In the immediate aftermath of the contest, which the Dubs won by a 124-107 mark, Curry and Wiggins were interviewed on the Chase Center court by ESPN’s Malika Andrews. It was then that Steph was made aware that some of her colleagues had been weighing the latter’s All-Star creds, which prompted the following response from him:
“What kind of debate is that? I hope they both got the answer right over there.”
Alas, Wiggins’ All-Star candidacy — to this early point in the season at least — is more difficult to ascertain than Curry is letting on.
Make no mistake, Wiggins’ All-Star selection last February was well-earned, even as the K-pop vote played a huge role in him getting voted into the ASG as a starter. And his numbers through 17 appearances in ’22-23 are even better than the ones he posted last season.
As of this writing, the 27-year-old is averaging 19.1 points, a career-high 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He’s also connecting on 50.6% of his shot attempts and 43.5% from deep. Finally, he continues to be one of the Dubs’ ultimate positive-impact guys; over his 565 minutes on the court, the team has outscored opponents by 6.9 points per 100 possessions.
Still, another set of numbers could potentially keep him from rejoining Steph in the Association’s annual showcase.
The All-Star Competition Is Incredibly Crowded
A larger-than-usual amount of first-time All-Stars participated in last season’s exhibition in Cleveland. In addition to Wiggins, Darius Garland, Fred VanVleet, Jarrett Allen, LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray all experienced their maiden voyages as All-Stars.
While all of them had put together seasons worthy of inclusion, their spots were really only available because a slew of more established players were precluded from playing for a variety of reasons.
How’s this for a 12-man roster — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, Jaylen Brown, Zion Williamson, Bradley Beal and Pascal Siakam. At least half of those players should be shoe-ins for inclusion this season.
So, despite his best efforts, Wiggins may find himself squeezed out this time around, especially if the Dubs are still hovering around .500.