The Warriors will be without two starters for Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
Forward Andrew Wiggins entered health and safety protocols Sunday, joining guard Jordan Poole. Wiggins, 26, is coming off a 27-point performance in Boston and was among the players who sat out Golden State’s game in Toronto. Wiggins is averaging 18.7 points per game while shooting a career best 42.2% from behind the arc.
Before the season, Wiggins was hesitant to get vaccinated, but San Francisco’s indoor event restrictions and the league’s rules compelled him to get a jab. He said he received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the league declined his religious exemption application.
“The only options were to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA,” Wiggins said after the Warriors’ preseason opener.
Wiggins was concerned for a myriad of reasons. He said he already had a mild case of COVID-19, his family doesn’t believe in it and he had previously suffered an allergic reaction to something a couple years ago which resulted in him carrying an EpiPen.
The Center for Disease and Control recently said the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna are preferred over the Johnson & Johnson shot. The CDC also says vaccines are safe and effective and recommends everyone should get vaccinated as soon as possible. The U.S. recently surpassed 800,000 coronavirus deaths, but fully vaccinated people are 13 times less likely to die than unvaccinated according to New York Times data.
The Delta variant is still the dominant strain in America, but the Omicron variant is driving a case surge across the country. Over 60 players have entered health and safety protocols in the NBA this week, causing the league to approve an additional replacement player roster spot for each team. Multiple games have been postponed.
When asked after the Celtics game if the recent virus spike makes him more confident in his decision to get vaccinated, Wiggins said “no, I’m not, but it is what it is I guess.”
Players in protocol must test negative twice, 24 hours apart, to return.
