Andrew Wiggins 'Obviously Has a Personal Vendetta' Against T-Wolves, Chris Finch Says

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said the 35-point outburst by the Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins on Wednesday night shows he "obviously has a personal vendetta" against his former team.

Wiggins downplayed that line of thinking following the Warriors' 123-110 win over the Wolves.

"No, not a revenge game, a well-played game against a former team," Wiggins told reporters. "A fun game. The game of basketball's fun. ... Facing your former team is always one you wake up excited for."

The 2014 first overall pick, whose previous season-high was 21 points, was on fire against Minnesota as he knocked down 14 of his 19 shots from the field and all four of his free-throw attempts. He also tallied four rebounds and two steals for the Dubs.

"Andrew was just fantastic, the aggression from the beginning of the game, loved his energy," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said. "Obviously he was pretty excited to play against his old team. We needed everything he brought us tonight."

Wiggins was traded from the Timberwolves to the Warriors in February 2020 as part of a blockbuster deal that sent D'Angelo Russell to Minnesota.

The University of Kansas product spent the first five-plus years of his career with the Wolves and enjoyed some personal success, highlighted by winning the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, but the team never transformed into a serious contender during his tenure.

Minnesota qualified for the playoffs just once while Wiggins was on the roster, and that resulted in a first-round exit against the Houston Rockets during the 2018 postseason.

Before Wednesday's game, the 26-year-old Canadian said the situation reached a point where it was best for both sides to go their separate ways when the trade was made last year, and he didn't signal there was any lingering tensions with his former team.

"It's basically like facing a whole new team," Wiggins said. "Something had to be done, just the way everything was going. The way things were, we knew changes were coming eventually. I feel like it worked out for both teams."

Regardless of the reason, the Warriors will hope the veteran forward brings that type of aggression to the court more frequently moving forward because it makes the 10-1 squad even more dangerous.

Golden State returns to action Friday night when it hosts the Chicago Bulls at the Chase Center.