Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins will be one of seven first-time All-Stars to take the court on Sunday.
The No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Wiggins is in the midst of his best all-around season. He's averaging his fewest points since 2017-18, but he's shooting career-highs from both the field (48.1 percent) and 3-point range (41.4 percent). Not only that, but he's played a key role in Golden State owning the league's best defensive rating by taking on the toughest assignment on a nightly basis.
When asked what the key to his success has been this season at his All-Star media availability, Wiggins mentioned that he's stepped it up defensively since joining the Warriors and that people have taken notice. It helps that he's now teammates with six-time All-Defensive selection Draymond Green, who Wiggins says he's picked up a thing or two from.
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"Just learning, just by watching. You know, Draymond is a defensive specialist — one of a kind, all over the place," Wiggins said about how Green has helped him on the defensive end.
"Even if I'm on the bench and he's in the game, just watching his movement, watching what he does, how he anticipates stuff and just picking his brain, like 'what did you see there? How did you get there?'
"Draymond is great, he's the anchor of our defense."
At 42-17, the Warriors currently own the second-best record in the Western Conference, trailing only the Suns (48-10). They've been able to maintain their spot near the top of the standings despite Green being sidelined with a back injury since early January.
Wiggins, Green and Stephen Curry were each named All-Stars, giving the Warriors the most selections in this season's game.
Golden State's first game back following the All-Star break is against Portland on Thursday, Feb. 24.
