“I’m expecting a big year from Wiggs.” The stakes are high for Andrew Wiggins, with Steve Kerr making his expectations clear. But the forward is yet to make an appearance on the court as he missed the Warriors’ preseason opener against the Clippers. The hooper’s absence was in continuation of him missing the team’s training camp in Hawaii because of an illness. However, as the Warriors prepare for their second game, the head coach has given Dub Nation a sigh of relief with the latest update on Wiggs.

While Andrew Wiggins missed the entire camp in Hawaii, he was spotted getting some shots up after practice on Monday. Even Steve Kerr revealed that the forward participated in practice but was not part of the live action. Draining back-to-back threes, Wiggs looked in great shape and will likely return to the court soon. But how soon? Reportedly, as per the head coach, he will remain out for Wednesday’s game against the Kings. However, the former champion “is still on track to be ready” by the start of the regular season.

Further, as per analyst Kendra Andrews’ report, Steve Kerr claimed that Andrew Wiggins returned from the offseason in great shape and, about the illness, the 9x NBA Champ “doesn’t expect this to set him back too much.” The Warriors also have over two weeks before their regular season tips off with a match against the Blazers. And that should be enough time for Wiggs to recover completely.

Sure enough, Andrew Wiggins has a lot to prove this year as he is coming off an underwhelming season where he averaged a career-low 13.2 points. However, Steve Kerr has complete faith in his star player: “I’ve only seen him the last couple of days since he got back in town, but No 1. He looks physically really fit. He also looks, just speaking with him, He sounds very motivated. Very much at peace. I think he’s in a place where he knows the last couple years have been tough for a lot of reasons, and I think he’s primed to get back to where he was a couple of years ago.” So, what does the road ahead look like for both sides?

Andrew Wiggins’ stats and Steve Kerr’s plan of ‘relying heavily’ on him

Yes, it has been a rough year for Andrew Wiggins. Just two years ago, he helped the Warriors win a championship, while he averaged 18.3 points and nearly 9 rebounds in the series against Boston, even briefly leading to murmurs about him winning Finals MVP over Stephen Curry! But Wiggs fell off drastically last season and had the worst showing of his career. However, Steve Kerr is hoping to see the version of Wiggs that led the Bay Area to the title. With a career average of 18.5 points and nearly 5 rebounds, the hooper has been consistently productive throughout his career and has the potential to do it again this year.

Now that Klay Thompson is gone, Steve Kerr is also planning on increasing his usage rate, “We have to rethink how we’re doing things and Wiggs will be featured for sure. He’s a guy who’s proven. He’s a 20-point-a-night guy. We’re going to be relying on him heavily.” The head coach also has a vision of making the Golden State Warriors a high-volume shooting team once again, which means he wants Andrew Wiggins (almost double his current 3p output) and other stars to attempt six to seven deep-range shots per game.

Hopefully, he will begin getting into live-action practice soon and make the highly anticipated return as he is expected to play a key role in the Warriors’ title aspirations and continue the Bay Area dynasty forward.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.