Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins had a career year in the 2021-22 season. He earned his first trip to the All-Star Game and averaged 17.2 points a game for a Warriors team that claimed its third NBA championship in six years.
Even with all of that success, however, Wiggins said he had a major regret from the beginning of the season.
“I still wish I didn’t get [vaccinated], to be honest with you,” the 27-year-old forward told FanSided in an interview published Monday.
According to the New York Post, local ordinances in San Francisco prohibited unvaccinated people over the age of 12 from taking part in indoor events for most of the NBA season.
That included Wiggins, who would have been barred from practicing or playing in the Warriors’ home arena, Chase Center.
He filed for a religious exemption to the ordinance that would have allowed him to play without getting vaccinated, but he was denied.
Wiggins eventually decided to get the vaccine in October, but he said at the time he felt “forced” to do so in order to play, the Post reported.
Nine months later with an NBA title under his belt, Wiggins still is not sure he made the right decision.
Should Wiggins have been allowed to play without the vaccine?
“I did it, and, you know, I was an All-Star this year and, you know, champion, so that was the good part, you know, just not missing out on the year, you know, the best year of my career,” he told FanSided.
“But for my body, I just don’t like putting all that stuff in my body, so I didn’t, I didn’t like that, and I didn’t like that it wasn’t my choice. I didn’t like that it was either get this or don’t play.”
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving faced the same dilemma this season, as New York City had a similar ordinance barring him from playing unless he was vaccinated, according to ESPN.
Irving chose to remain unvaccinated, and he did not make his home debut until the 75th game of the season after Mayor Eric Adams made an exception to vaccine rules for athletes and performers, Sports Illustrated reported.
Irving ended up playing only 29 of the Nets’ 82 regular season games, and many critics felt that contributed to the team’s disappointing results.
The Nets were eventually swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, who went on to win the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to Wiggins’ Warriors in the finals.
Wiggins avoided these team chemistry questions by getting vaccinated and playing with his team for the entire season, but he felt he had to give up his medical freedom in the process. He got an All-Star Game berth and an NBA title, but were they worth it?
According to Wiggins himself, the answer just might be no.
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