The former No. 1 overall pick has gone from reclamation project to NBA All-Star in a Warriors uniform. With free agency coming in 2023, let’s game out the size of the next Andrew Wiggins contract.
Andrew Wiggins has done anything but shy away from the pressure of the NBA Finals, proving that the Golden State Warriors were the perfect place for him to reboot his career. After a hot-and-cold five-year run with the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoop fans wondered if Wiggins would ever live up to the hype that accompanied his entry to the league as 2014’s No. 1 overall pick — and he’s doing it before our eyes on the biggest stage as part of a 2021-22 campaign that already saw him make his first-ever All-Star team.
That got us thinking — as he steadily approaches free agency in summer 2023, just how valuable is Wiggins compared to (1) the price tag of his current contract, and (2) that of other top small forwards in the league? And subsequently, what does that tell us about the size of the next deal he signs?
You have Andrew Wiggins salary questions, Boardroom has answers.
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Andrew Wiggins Salary & Contract Details
All dollar figures via Spotrac.
Age: 27
Active contract length: 5 years
Total value: $147,710,050
Average annual value (AAV): $29,542,010
2021-22 salary $31,579,390
Free Agency: 2023 (unrestricted)
Where Does Wiggins’ Salary Rank Among NBA SFs?
Highest-paid NBA SFs, 2021-22 (Total $)
- Kevin Durant (BKN): $42M
- LeBron James (LAL): $41.1M
- Kawhi Leonard (LAC): $39.3M
- Jimmy Butler (MIA): $36M
- Tobias Harris (PHI): $35.9M
- Khris Middleton (MIL): $35.5M
- Andrew Wiggins (GSW): $31.5M
- Gordon Hayward (CHA): $29.9M
- Brandon Ingram (NOP): $29.4M
- Harrison Barnes (SAC): $20.2M
Highest-paid NBA SFs, 2021-22 (AAV)
- Kawhi Leonard (LAC): $44M
- LeBron James (LAL): $42.8M
- Tobias Harris (PHI): $36M
- Khris Middleton (MIL): $35.5M
- Jimmy Butler (MIA): $35.1M
- Brandon Ingram (NOP): $31.6M
- Gordon Hayward (CHA): $30M
- Andrew Wiggins (GSW): $29.5M
- Harrison Barnes (SAC): $21.2M
- Bojan Bogdanovic (UTA): $18.2M
Andrew Wiggins Stats: Regular Season vs. NBA Finals
2021-22 Regular Season
Points: 17.2 per game
Rebounds: 4.5
Assists: 2.2
Steals: 1.0
Blocks: 0.7
FG%: 46.6
3P%: 39.3
FT%: 63.4
2021-22 NBA Finals (Thru Game 5)
Points: 18.4 per game
Rebounds per game: 9.4
Assists: 1.6
Steals: 1.0
Blocks: 1.2
FG%: 44.8
3P%: 29.1
FT%: 68.3
Has Andrew Wiggins Earned an Even Bigger Contract?
Wiggins is already one of the highest-paid small forwards in the NBA. Other than Tobias Harris, all players currently earning above him have established themselves as perennial All-Stars — and most of them (LeBron, KD, Kawhi, Khris Middleton) have championship rings to match.
Should the Warriors win the NBA Finals, Wiggins’s assertive play will have been a significant reason why. Sure, his assist numbers have dipped a bit since the regular season, but Wiggins has scored timely buckets in isolation and earned Golden State plenty of second-chance points with his rebounding. During Game 5, he exploded for 26 points and 13 rebounds, willing his team to victory with relentless attacks to the basket — so much so that a few pundits wondered if he had a chance to steal the NBA Finals MVP trophy from Stephen Curry.
Whether that sounds ridiculous to you or not, the mere fact that it was spoken speaks to the likelihood that Wiggins lands a contract in the $35,000,000-$37,000,000 per year range.
Depending on Wiggins’ performance in a contract year and just how much the NBA salary cap increases between 2022-23 and 2023-24, year, however, that number could grow even bigger.
Wiggins, the Warriors, and 2023 Free Agency
When Wiggins hits free agency in 2023 (joining the likes of LeBron James and Khris Middleton), Warriors stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green will have a combined age of 101, meaning Bob Myers and Co. will have to think long and hard about whether it makes sense to run things back with the Big 3 and Wiggins and Jordan Poole — if such a thing was even possible at all under the rules of the CBA — knowing how outrageous their already formidable luxury tax bill would be.
All told, if he keeps up his exceptional play, Wiggins would likely expect a max deal in the ballpark of the five years and $190 million Thompson is making now.
The narrative has changed a full 180 degrees since The Timberwolves traded Wiggins to the Bay. Whether the Warriors decide to keep Wiggins or deal him when he’s at his highest value and use the money to, say, pay Jordan Poole instead, he’s proven that he can thrive in a role on the biggest stage. And that means major dollar signs for the 27-year-old for several years to come.
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