Shaquille O’Neal on Andrew Wiggins’ Shocking NBA All-Star Nomination: “They Taught Him How to Be a Winner… I Want to Congratulate Him”

Nearing the All-Star weekend, the NBA has announced the names of the starters from both conferences. Among the surprising names that came up in the results, the name that shook the NBA community is Andrew Wiggins. Andrew Wiggins is going to take part in the NBA All-Star weekend for the first time in his career.

While that itself is a tremendous achievement at such an early stage in his career, they also declared him as a stater for the first time. Hence, the NBA community including experts and legends like the Inside the NBA team congratulated him for this feat.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley congratulate first time All-Star

During the ‘Inside The NBA’ show on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley congratulated Wiggins for his tremendous achievement. Shaquille O’Neal said, “When you’re such a young talent, they expect you to know how to win. He didn’t know how to win, he was up and down, criticized a lot. But when he went to Golden State, similar to what JaVale McGee did, they taught him how to be a winner. They taught him how to play a certain way, and he’s doing that and I want to congratulate him and his family. Definitely not mad at this.”

However, Barkley added after congratulating Wiggins, “What they really did was put him in the right spot, he can’t be your best player… People assume when you make the money, automatically, I’m the man.”

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He meant just because a player gets the max contract, does not mean he has to be their best player. When the Warriors traded for him, it removed the pressure of being the best player on the court from his shoulder. Therefore, according to Barkley, that enabled Wiggins to play more freely.

What does this mean for Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors?

The Golden State Warriors are the only team in the NBA to have two All-Star starters this season. After Curry, Klay, and Draymond, Wiggins has now joined the elite category of being an All-Star on this Warriors roster.

This shows the real reason why he was picked No.1 in his NBA Draft Class. Have the Warriors unlocked the true potential of Andrew Wiggins? Or is there scope for more improvement in his career? Let us know what you think about it.

Also Read: Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Once Claimed Even Michael Jordan Can’t Match Massive Klay Thompson Feat: “I Never Saw Him Do That”