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Kendra AndrewsESPN
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is nearing a return to the team and is expected to be back early this week, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday.
Wiggins, who has missed 22 consecutive games attending to a family matter, is expected to be back in the Bay Area as soon as the next 24 hours, sources told Wojnarowski.
It is unclear how much Wiggins will play in the team’s final three regular-season games, but his return would come with enough time to prepare for the play-in tournament and playoffs beginning next week. The Warriors are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
Golden State had been hopeful Wiggins would be able to return soon but were operating with no clear timeline for when he could be back.
“We’d love to have him and hope that that does happen, because we want to be whole and I’m sure he wants to be a part of this,” Stephen Curry said last week. “But when he walks in the door, it’ll be when it’s the right time for him. That’s kind of the expectation at this point.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that Wiggins has been working out every day while away from the team, but as he returns to the team’s facilities, the training and medical staff would evaluate his fitness and conditioning to determine how soon he would be able to return to play. Wiggins has missed a total of 41 games this season with left foot soreness, a strained adductor and a bout with a non-COVID-19 illness.
Last summer, Wiggins signed a four-year contract extension after he had an All-Star year and played a major role in the Warriors’ championship run. He’s averaging 17.1 points and 5.0 rebounds this season while shooting nearly 40% from 3.
The Warriors head into Monday night’s slate in a four-way tie in the loss column for the last two guaranteed playoff spots in the Western Conference.