There are times when his nonchalant nature might lead one to believe that Andrew Wiggins isn't motivated or locked in when he's on the court. But Robert Covington, who was Wiggins' teammate on the Minnesota Timberwolves, told the Bay Area News Group's Wes Goldberg that the Warriors star's demeanor is misleading.
“That’s just Wiggins’ personality,” Covington told Goldberg. “I thought that [too] until I actually saw him go after it.”
Being a former No. 1 overall pick, Wiggins always has had elevated expectations since being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Spending his first five seasons with a consistently underperforming Timberwolves team only furthered the criticism surrounding Wiggins, as a top pick like him should be able to help a franchise rediscover winning ways.
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It isn't just former teammates that are questioning the public criticism of Wiggins' work ethic.
"It's weird to me that his work ethic is in question," Warriors center Marquese Chriss said. "I've never seen anything that would make me say that he's not a hard worker.
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"I think the game just comes so easy to him that it looks nonchalant. When you're that athletic and that talented, it might look like that. But I've never questioned that he was working hard or not trying."
Wiggins was included in a myriad of fake trade proposals from Twitter general managers throughout the offseason, as Warriors fans imagined the idea of being able to acquire a more bona fide star player. Steph Curry didn't buy into all the conversation, and is looking forward to his first full season sharing a locker room with Wiggins.
"I'm excited about it," Curry said of playing with Wiggins. "I know, for him, there's been a lot of conversations, especially coming out of the trade last year and this offseason -- I know he's heard a lot of the noise on where he fits in our long-term plans or if he's going to get moved or all the other nonsense. I've always been in the camp of he has so much to prove in terms of taking the next step in his career and organization and with the potential that we all have in terms of unlocking some of the things that will help us be a winning basketball team and him having a huge part in that."
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His work ethic in the weight room definitely shouldn't be in question, as Wiggins arrived at Warriors training camp looking noticeably stronger, eliciting some great reactions from fans.
Although last season was an anomaly with so many injuries, Wiggins again will be asked to help turn around a Warriors roster that went 15-50 and finished in last place in 2019-20. Concerns and criticism won't go away anytime soon for Wiggins, but all Warriors fans care about is Golden State jumping back into title contention.
Wiggins will be a critical piece in making those dreams a reality for the Warriors.