Known for his quiet, deadly demeanor on the basketball court, Andrew Wiggins never fails to show fire on the floor.
His organizational skills often speak for themselves, and his two-way performance during the 2022 NBA Finals cemented his status as one of the Warriors’ key contributors, needless to say.
But there was one moment in the Golden State Warriors’ championship run when Wiggins did use his voice, and what he said let teammate Andre Iguodala know that the 27-year-old meant business in the Finals showdown with the Boston Celtics.
In the latest episode of Iguodala’s “Point Forward” podcast, with his co-hosts Evan Turner and Wiggins as guests, the Warriors veteran recalled Game 6 before the team’s championship run, and the small forward’s targeted response let him know they had it in the bag.
“Going into Game 6, that’s what I wanted to ask you,” Iguodala told Wiggins. “We were practicing before Game 6 and I asked you – because I was taking my temperature. The reason I was talking so much and I was in the locker room so much, I just wanted to check the temperature and it had to be organic and it had to be real. So I have to be very concerned about you in order to ask you a question, so I have to know my people.
“But I asked you and I said, ‘Wiggs, I think we have to win tomorrow.’ You looked at me like, you said, ‘We have to win tomorrow,’ and I just told Evan, ‘Man, when Wiggs says that, I think, we’re good.'”
Wiggins’ reaction showed the Golden State Warriors’ killer instinct heading into Game 6 with a 3-2 lead and a chance to close out the series and win the team’s fourth championship in eight seasons.
The team bounced back from an early 2-1 deficit in the seven-game, two-win series, and Wiggins explained their mindset – and his – to Iguodala on the podcast.
“Just knowing that we’re one game away, you know. One more game,” Wiggins said. “If we can do it again, I can call myself a champion. I’m not going to let anything get in my way of doing that.”