"Déjà vu, déjà vu": Warriors fans recount Andrew Wiggins' “personal” absence from one year ago as he's set to miss time again

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins has been ruled out for Thursday’s road matchup against the New York Knicks due to personal reasons. The absence marks his second consecutive, and with no firm return timeline, Warriors fans are having flashbacks to his extended personal leave last season.

Typically, players who miss time for personal matters are only out for a few games. However, Wiggins missed the Warriors’ final 25 games of the 2022-23 season, with many speculating about the cause of his absence. The former All-Star ultimately returned for the playoffs, appearing in 13 games.

It appears that Wiggins could miss substantial time again, as according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Golden State is unsure when he will return.

“Wiggs is a private person and he's asked to keep it private, and we're going to honor that,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game's “Willard & Dibs.” “We respect Wiggs. We need him, and we fully expect him back, but we just don't know when that will be.”

Wiggins’ first absence of his 25-game personal leave occurred on Feb. 14 last year. Meanwhile, his first absence of his latest personal leave came on Tuesday (Feb. 27) against the Washington Wizards. Thus, fans on X/Twitter noticed a striking similarity to last season’s ordeal.

“Déjà vu, déjà vu,” one fan said.

“I'm not doing this again. Should’ve traded him when we had the chance,” another said.

However, others expressed sympathy for the 29-year-old.

“Prayers for Wiggs, man, he can’t catch a break,” one fan said.

“He’s been going through it recently, man,” another said.

Below are some more fan reactions to Wiggins’ latest personal absence:

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Andrew Wiggins’ personal leave comes amid worst scoring season of his career

Despite making his first All-Star appearance just two years ago, Andrew Wiggins is having arguably the worst season of his career.

The 10-year veteran is averaging a career-low 12.7 points per game through 51 games. That's 4.2 ppg less than his previous career low (16.9 ppg) from his rookie season (2014-15) with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, he hasn’t been defending at the same level that he did during the Warriors’ 2022 NBA title run.

Golden State (30-27, ninth in the Western Conference) is battling for a play-in/playoff spot. So, most would agree that the Warriors could’ve sorely used more production from Wiggins over the past few months. However, perhaps he will be more rejuvenated following his time away from the team.

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