Warriors Rumors: Andrew Wiggins Will Try to Play Game 6 vs. Lakers Despite Rib Injury

Golden State Warriors veteran Andrew Wiggins will attempt to play Friday's Game 6—a potential elimination matchup—against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena while nursing a rib injury, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wiggins intends to go through his normal pregame routine before making a final decision about his status.

The 28-year-old suffered a left costal cartilage fracture during a 121-106 win over the Lakers in Game 5 on Wednesday.

With about five minutes remaining in Game 5, Wiggins attempted to get position for an offensive rebound and was boxed out by LeBron James before grabbing his left side.

Wiggins remained in the game for three more minutes before head coach Steve Kerr turned to his bench. Before being taken out, he completed a three-point play on a hook shot through contact.

Wiggins was one of Golden State's best players in Game 5 alongside Stephen Curry, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal in 36 minutes.

"This was the best game Wiggs has played since he's been back over, I guess, three weeks or so now," Dubs head coach Steve Kerr said after the game, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. "Just the way he attacked, the way he got to the rim. That adds another dimension to our attack.

"I thought the last couple games in L.A., we just didn't get to the line a ton. We settled for a lot of stuff. I thought Wiggs did a good job of really being aggressive."

If Wiggins doesn't suit up for the Warriors on Friday night, it'll be a tough blow for the team on both sides of the ball. In 12 playoff games, he is averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from deep.

It should be noted that Warriors veteran Kevon Looney suffered a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture during Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals. He missed Game 3 before returning for the remainder of the series.

Looney was clearly in a lot of pain, but that's something he endured in an effort to try to help Golden State win the championship. The Warriors eventually fell to the Toronto Raptors in six games.

The Dubs trail the Lakers 3-2 in their current second-round series and would be eliminated with a loss in Los Angeles on Friday.