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After missing 21 consecutive games, Andrew Wiggins is expected to return “early this week” to the Golden State Warriors.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Wiggins was away from the team because his father, Mitchell Wiggins, is currently dealing with a very serious medical situation.
Charania confirmed that the Warriors have given Wiggins “complete space and freedom” to deal with this family matter.
Golden State’s Draymond Green said he was “disgusted” by rumors that he heard about his teammate’s absence. Stephen Curry added that whenever Wiggins walks through the door will be the right time.
His teammates were reportedly aware of what he was experiencing and they chose to respect his privacy (via The Athletic):
They know why, inside that locker room. He has their grace. That says a lot.
“What he’s dealing with,” one player said, “is some real (expletive).”
As best as we can, we should all offer the same for Wiggins, too.
The thirst for knowledge exists, and the former No. 1 overall pick will hear questions about his absence. Let’s all respect whatever answer, no matter how limited, he chooses to give us.
Wiggins was reportedly working out and training while he was away from the team, but it’s not easy to miss that much time during the season and return to NBA action.
If he looks a little rusty at first, let’s give him some time to settle in and find his rhythm. He’s earned that level of respect and we owe it to him.
The Tip-Off
NBA content from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
My colleague, Prince Grimes, wrote a brilliant column about why the reaction to Angel Reese taunting Caitlin Clark is a sickening case of double standards:
Before the subject could get lost in the moment, a reporter asked Staley for the truth about her team, which was often described as a bully.
“The truth about our team … We’re not bar fighters. We’re not thugs. We’re not monkeys. We’re not street fighters. This team exemplifies how you need to approach basketball on the court and off the court. And I do think that [is] sometimes brought into the game, and it hurts.
“Some of the people in the media, when you’re gathering in public, you’re saying things about our team and you’re being heard. And it’s being brought back to me.”
What Staley described is racism, at worst. At minimum, it’s an implicit bias common in sports: Black women are the aggressors in proximity to their non-Black counterparts. In basketball, that type of bias influences how athletes are covered, coached, officiated, and ultimately perceived by the public.
Less than 48 hours later, we saw those exact biases and double standards go to work when LSU’s Angel Reese was ridiculed for taunting Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who was widely celebrated for doing the same thing to another player a week earlier.
You should read the entirety of Prince’s column, which was thoughtful and right on the money.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
UConn (-7.5, -350) vs. San Diego State (+290), O/U 132.5, 9:20 PM ET
Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in the tournament and have covered the spread in more than 70 percent of games this season, the second-best rate in men’s college basketball. Can they pull off one more in the national title?
Shootaround
— Hunter Dickinson and the top 20 players in the NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal
— NBA fans were astonished by Victor Wembanyama’s put-back dunk of his own stepback 3
— HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan explains what we know so far (and the potential ramifications) of the main CBA changes
— If Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both qualify for a supermax, will the Celtics pay up?
