Getty Golden State Warriors wing Klay Thompson stands for the national anthem before a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets.
This is a story about a Golden State Warriors All-Star, and not one of the three you’re thinking of.
To label Andrew Wiggins such is taking some liberties, as the Dubs’ forward has never actually been named to an All-Star team. But don’t tell that to Wiggins’ teammate Klay Thompson.
Thompson knows a little something about what it takes to be an All-Star in the NBA, winning the honor five straight years before missing the last two seasons due to injury. Based on his knowledge, Thompson proclaimed Wednesday that Wiggins’ play this season has made him worthy of the same honor.
The @GSWReddit account retweeted an online reply Thompson made December 8 arguing Wiggins’ All-Star case.
“One of the best 2 way players in the game on the best team in the league,” Thompson tweeted. “NO QUESTION HE DESERVES IT!”
Wiggins has Compelling Case for All-Star Team
GettyAndrew Wiggins, of the Golden State Warriors, dunking over Karl-Anthony Towns, of the Minnesota Timberwolves
Wiggins’ All-Star case is an interesting one, if not downright compelling.
The Golden State swingman has scored at an All-Star pace for most of his NBA tenure, averaging 19.5 points across his eight-year career, per Basketball Reference. His scoring average has dipped a full point since arriving in Golden State from the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the 2019-20 season, but his offensive efficiency has made real strides.
Wiggins has put up career years each of the last two seasons in field goal percentage (47.7% and 48.7%), as well as in 3-point shooting percentage (38% and 41.5%). The rest of his traditional counting statistics are a little low for All-Star consideration when grouped with the 18.5 points per night Wiggins is dropping through 25 games this year. He is also averaging 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per night.
But as Thompson mentioned in his Twitter comment, the real case for Wiggins resides in the analytics measuring his effectiveness on the defensive side of the ball. Wiggins is currently 11th in the entire NBA with a defensive rating of 103.5, per StatMuse. Individual player defensive rating measures the number of projected points that player surrenders per 100 possessions.
Translated, that means Wiggins gives up just over 1 point on average every time he squares off head-to-head with an offensive player — typically one of the opposing team’s best, as Wiggins often draws the tough tasks of guarding dynamic NBA wings. The only two players giving up fewer than 1 point per possession this season are his Dubs’ teammate Draymond Green (97 rating) and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (98.3 rating).
Warriors’ Success, Wiggins’ Role Combine to add to All-Star Case
GettyAndrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney, of the Golden State Warriors, defend Jalen Green, of the Houston Rockets, during a game on November 7, 2021.
The most problematic part of using the defensive argument to put Wiggins over the top in the All-Star conversation is that three of his teammates actually rate higher than he does. The aforementioned Green leads the league in defensive rating, while Steph Curry comes in at third with a rating of 100.1. Third-year guard Jordan Poole, filling in as a starter while Thompson continues to rehab from an achilles tendon tear, is just ahead of Wiggins in 10th place with a rating of 103.1.
Golden State leads the NBA with a record of 21-4. The Warriors have put multiple guys on All-Star teams several times in recent seasons and, even in Thompson’s absence, they deserve to again this year. So the question that remains is if the Dubs are appropriately rewarded, to whom should the second spot go?
Green does it all. He could be named an All-Star selection in just about any given year due solely to his generational brilliance on defense. He also averages 8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per night, not to mention all the things he does that don’t show up on traditional or advanced stat sheets.
That said, Green scores just 8 points per game and is sometimes a liability on offense because he can’t stretch the floor. He shoots just 30.4% from behind the 3-point line, per Basketball Reference. Putting a player with a single-digit per game scoring average on an All-Star team is a tough sell, especially in the talent laden Western Conference, whether Green should be there or not.
The only other option, aside from Wiggins, is Poole. The young shooting guard is averaging almost as many points at 18 per night. Poole also more than doubles Wiggins’ assist tally with 3.5 per game and produces more steals at 1.1 every time out. But efficiency is where Poole falls significantly behind. He’s shooting 34.5% from deep, a full 7 percentage points behind Wiggins. Poole also trails Wiggins by nearly 4 percentage points in overall field goal percentage.
And finally, while it doesn’t impact his case now, the return of Thompson to the lineup around Christmas could take a bite out of Poole’s minutes and his shots. It will certainly eventually remove him from the starting lineup and into a 6th man role. That transition, however, could conceivably up Poole’s shot attempts, shot makes and ultimately his overall points, as he will be playing more frequently with the Warriors’ second unit against the second units of opposing teams.
The All-Star game is still more than two months away, though fan voting has already begun. If the Warriors remain on anything like the run they’ve had to this point in the season, the team deserves at least two All-Stars. Curry will be one of them. And Thompson is right — Wiggins actually should be the other.