Heading into the first round of the playoffs, there are several storylines surrounding the matchup between the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors and the No. 3 seed Sacramento Kings.
Stories like Steve Kerr against his former assistant Mike Brown, the Warriors’ title defense and the Kings’ first postseason game in over a decade all provide intrigue. However, the headliner could be Andrew Wiggins‘ highly anticipated return to the court for the Warriors.
After missing time since mid-February due to a personal matter, Wiggins is back with the Warriors just in time for the playoffs. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Wiggins is cleared to play in Game 1 and the Warriors are leaning towards bringing him off the bench in a 20-25 minutes role.
While the Warriors are preparing for the Kings, Wiggins is on the court going through workouts at practice with the start of the playoffs looming.
Via @DaltonJ_Johnson on Twitter:
Andrew Wiggins goes through work in the post one day before his return for Game 1 of the NBA playoffs pic.twitter.com/NmdSNvQxs6
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) April 14, 2023
Via @CaseyPrattABC7 on Twitter:
Wiggins and GP2 showing off on the practice court. Warriors about to be full strength in time for the playoffs. #DubNation pic.twitter.com/jl2TzXCcic
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) April 14, 2023
Via @kendra__andrews on Twitter:
Andrew Wiggins shooting his way around the arc after practice. He’ll be speaking with reporters shortly. pic.twitter.com/alZs3x22WN
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) April 14, 2023
Wiggins last suited up on Feb. 13 against the Washington Wizards. During the Warriors’ win over the Wizards, Wiggins tallied 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field with seven boards and four rebounds.
During the 2022-23 regular season campaign, Wiggins averaged 17.1 points on 47.3% shooting from the floor and 39.6% from deep to go along with five rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32.2 minutes per contest in 37 games.
Along with playing tough defense, Wiggins averaged 16.5 points on 46.9% shooting from the floor with 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 34.9 minutes per playoff game last year.
The Kings and Warriors are set to tip off on Saturday in primetime for Game 1 at 5:30 p.m. PT at Golden 1 Center.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
