The Golden State Warriors may be without Andrew Wiggins for a critical Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
The Warriors officially listed Wiggins as questionable for that game in the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday due to a left costal cartilage fracture.
It’s unclear how Wiggins actually landed on the injury report. Wiggins finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes in Wednesday’s 121-106 win at the Chase Center, which was his best output this series. He’s averaged 16.8 points and six rebounds against the Lakers in the playoffs.
“This was the best game Wiggs has played since he’s been back over the three weeks or so now,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Game 5. “Just the way he attacked, the way he got to the rim, that just adds another dimension to our attack. I thought the last couple games in LA, we didn’t get to the line a ton. We settled for a lot of stuff and I thought Wiggs did a good job of really being aggressive.”
While a rib fracture sounds bad and tough to play through, it’s been done before. Warriors forward Kevon Looney had the same fracture in the 2019 NBA Finals after taking a huge hit from Kawhi Leonard.
The Warriors currently trail the Lakers 3-2 in the series headed into Game 6 in Los Angeles. With the Warriors’ season on the line, it’s hard to imagine Wiggins not at least attempting to play on Friday night.