What Does Wiggins’ Performance In The FIBA Qualifier Mean for the Warriors?

Yes, Canada lost to the Czech Republic. The first time since 2000 the Canadains won’t compete in the Olympics. Team Maple Syrup will miss out, sadly, once again. It sucks for America's fellow country to the North.

But… Did you see what Wiggins brought to the table?!

ANDREW WIGGINS 3!!!!!!!

OVERTIME. #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/2NCD6phpto

— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) July 3, 2021

I’ll give you his final stats.

Wiggins finished with twenty points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

And this means nothing about the fact that he didn’t keep Team Canada in this game (even though they should have taken care of the Czech easily with the talent on the Canadian roster.)

Let me tell you one thing. His first defensive step was slow. He got beat multiple times. I don’t know if it’s because he was tired from the long-grueling NBA season but something was off. Maybe he wanted to be “The Guy” and dominate strictly offensively. Something NBA fans know from his Minnesota days.

I’ll leave it at that.

You know what the reason was for this clutch shot to force OT from “Maple Jordan”? The missed opportunities he learned from his mistakes in closing minutes on offense and defense (against the NBA teams we should’ve beaten in the NBA regular season I’ve mentioned in previous articles).

I will say his defense lacked certain mis-sized matchups against players on the Czech Republic but that’s okay. His goal for Team Canada was to be a rim attacker, someone who you can give it out to at the wing and find a bucket anyway necessary.

He’s learning/growing from his mistakes during the regular season has shown he can grow as a reliable shot-maker in the closing minutes when needed. The sky's the limit for the former #1 pick still to this day and years to come.

After watching this FIBA Qualifying Olympic game, I see the future for Wiggins even brighter than I saw about a month ago with room to grow with his trainer (Reid Ouse, @reidouse - make sure to follow him on Twitter). He can be a reliable third or fourth player for the Dubs for a few years to come.

The big question I want to hear in the comments is… is he a trade piece or someone who can be a 4th reliable starter when (and if) Klay goes back to his normal self? Let us know in the comments. And keep reading all our articles!

Arden Cravalho is a Sports Producer for 95.7 The Game and NBC Sports Bay Area... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho.