Apart from his five-and-a-half-season tenure with the Golden State Warriors, Andrew Wiggins' best fit over the course of his career has come with the Miami Heat. This past season was Wiggins's first full one with the Heat, and as far as how the Heat play basketball and their style, Wiggins is a solid fit.
However, in a similar fashion to his days with the Warriors, Wiggins could disappear from the action just as quickly as he can insert himself into it. There is no question that Wiggins can play an integral role on a championship team, as he did with the Warriors in 2022. However, despite being a solid fit with Miami this season, it didn't produce winning results.
Wiggins is going into an option year next season worth $30 million, and he's not yet given any indication on what he'll do with that option since the season just ended for the Heat. That's an offseason decision. As for the one that just passed, Wiggins showed a lot; unfortunately, it was a lot of good and bad.
Andrew Wiggins' propensity as a come-and-go presence was a problem
If one factor could sum up the entirety of the Heat's season, it would be consistency, or lack thereof. Bam Adebayo suffered from it, as did others on Miami's roster, and Wiggins can surely be included. Looking at the former NBA champions' numbers for the season, efficiency stands out as a massive positive, but it's not Wiggins' stats that summed up his season.Â
Wiggins averaged just 15.4 points per game this season, his lowest total since the 2023-24 season when he was still with the Warriors. That said, his efficiency from the floor jumped from the previous year, in which he split the season with Golden State and Miami. This season, Wiggins shot 47.5 % from the field, including 41.4% from three.Â
In his 13 seasons in the NBA, Wiggins has never shot above 40% from the 3-point line, until now. Unfortunately, his three-point shooting was one of his few points of consistency this season. Wiggins is the type of player who can sneak up on any team on any night, and if he's part of the offensive game plan, he can torch defenses, whether through his shooting or his ability to get to the paint.Â
Wiggins did a lot of that this season in Miami, but while he can win games when he's active and involved, he can lose games when he's silent and inactive. That was the story for Wiggins this season: flashes when active, but nowhere to be found when not involved. It's a similar story to his time in Golden State, save for the championship season, where had it not been for Wiggins, they might not have won it all that year.
Wiggins' propensity to fade into the background happened all too often this season, yet he fits in so well with how Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra wants the Heat to play basketball, not to mention that Wiggins is an exceptional defender. He was one of, if not the best, Heat defender night in and night out this season.Â
When it came to his offense, though, that is where he tended to disappear more often than not. Inconsistencies made up much of Wiggins' season, but that has been the story of his career. Still, the Heat might be better with him back next year than without. That is a storyline to pay attention to over the summer, considering his player option and what the Heat does with trades.Â
Wiggins was good for the Heat this year, but not great. If any player outside of Adebayo needs a bounce-back season next year more than anyone else, it's Wiggins, and if he accepts that $30 million, he'll likely get that chance.
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