Andrew Wiggins has returned to the Warriors

Wiggs is back after skipping the team’s recent road trip for a family matter

Last year, the Golden State Warriors lost Andrew Wiggins for the last 25 games of the season as he dealt with a family medical matter. This year, they’re getting him back after just four games.

Wiggins is already back with the Warriors as of Tuesday afternoon, and should be available as soon as Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Based on footage obtained by intrepid reporter/good luck charm Kerith Burke - the Warriors are winning at a 50-win pace since Burke returned from maternity leave - Wiggins is back on the court at the team practice facility already.

According to Kendra Andrews, the Warriors plan to start Wiggins Wednesday, though they haven’t decided on a minutes limit, if any, for their defensive stopper.

The minute load might not just be determined by Wiggins’ conditioning, but a desire to keep giving minutes to Moses Moody, who was fantastic as a fill-in starter during Wiggins’ absence. Moody averaged 12 points and shot 40% from three in those four games, while playing shutdown defense on Jalen Brunson when the Warriors defeated the New York Knicks.

This also means that fans can stop complaining about Wiggins missing time to deal with a family emergency. The Warriors allow their players to take time to deal with personal and family matters. That’s a good thing! More jobs should be like this! It’s not a sign of coddling or organizational laxity that the team accommodates for what has been reported (though not by Wiggins or the team) to be a medical issue concerning Mitchell Wiggins, Andrew’s father and a former NBA player.

Wiggins came back last year and and was immediately the Warriors’ third-best player in the postseason. He would have been second-best had Kevon Looney not been possessed by the spirit of Nate Thurmond against the Kings, collecting rebounds like Big Nate acquired accolades for his barbecue joint. Ultimately, Wiggins only got derailed by LeBron breaking his ribs, not any lack of mental toughness.

This most recent absence didn’t cost the Warriors anything at all. They won the first three games fairly easily without Wiggins. He likely wouldn’t have made a difference in their blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, since Draymond Green and Moody are just as capable of standing ten feet away from Jaylen Brown as he drilled open threes as Wiggins would have been.

Plus, it’s probably a long-term benefit that Steve Kerr was forced to play Moody, just days after insisting the team couldn’t find minutes for him. It truly might mean the difference in the Warriors extending Moody this summer or finding a new home for him.

More than anything, it’s great that, whatever Wiggins’ family situation is, it appears to have improved. And if he needs to leave the team again, that’s not the time to complain about how he’s not worth his salary, or that NBA players are soft now, and that Bill Russell used to walk to practice in the snow uphill both ways when his dad was sick.

It’s good that Wiggins is back. And it’s great that the Warriors have a team culture to support him and welcome him back.