Life for Andrew Wiggins should have been easy in 2026-27. The addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo should have set him up to continue building on last season's individual success. Instead, he has fallen off a cliff to begin the year with the Miami Heat.
Remember, this is a guy who the Los Angeles Lakers were regularly checking in on. There was a point at which Pat Riley was reportedly asking for a package revolving around Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, and a first-round pick for Wiggins. The Lakers were not inclined to give in.
On a version of the team that still featured both Luka Doncic and LeBron James, pairing them up with Wiggins did make sense. In theory, the Heat forward would have slot in well among them. Without trying to thread the needle around those two, the Lakers moved on from Wiggins as a target.
Considering his abysmal start to 2026-27, there are no current regrets about that decision. It is quite the opposite. Watching the slow start of Wiggins in Miami and seeing the strong early surge for the Lakers' by-committee wing group has Los Angeles comfortable with where they are.
Andrew Wiggins has been brutal to start the year in Miami
One of the early issues for the Heat has been their clunky spacing. Wiggins' sudden inability to hit his 3-point shots has been contributing to that problem.
Wiggins is shooting 33.3 percent on 4.1 attempts from beyond the arc to begin the 2026-27 season. 1.7 of those shots classify as wide-open looks (the opponent is more than six feet away). The veteran forward is doing even worse on those, hitting only 26.3 when defenses dare him to take it.
8.7 points per game is all Wiggins has managed to muster up to start the year. That puts him on pace for the worst scoring season of his entire NBA career without a sizable bounce-back.
Throw in some poor defensive play on his part and the Erik Spoelstra felt emboldened to bench Wiggins for the last two games. Who could blame him?
The old starting lineup combination featuring Wiggins beside Giannis, Bam Adebayo, Klay Thompson, and Davion Mitchell was returning brutal results to start the year. Thus far, they have been bleeding points on defense with a 127.0 rating on that end. Their overall net rating currently sits at -9.1.
In fact, no five-man lineup featuring Wiggins that has played at least 10 minutes together is posting a positive net rating. Yikes. Swapping in Pelle Larsson ahead of Wiggins with the aforementioned group has delivered promising results by contrast. Their net rating is 23.3 on the season thus far.
Wiggins still has time to turn around what currently projects to be his worst season as a pro. For the massive price tag he is carrying over the next few years, the Lakers should feel better off for not risking this one, though.
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