Rejuvenated Andrew Wiggins off to strong preseason start. Heat hopes it continues
Andrew Wiggins spent a chunk of this past offseason getting settled and comfortable in South Florida after last season’s mid-season trade to Miami. The veteran forward brought his family to live with him in Miami and dedicated the second half of his summer to getting acclimated to the area.
Now, the Heat needs Wiggins to find that comfort level on the basketball court following his underwhelming finish to last season.
“When I first got here, it was more so just trying to get situated,” Wiggins, 30, recalls of last season’s move to the Heat as part of February’s Jimmy Butler trade. “I’m in a new situation, new players, new coaches, new systems. Just trying to find my spots and get situated within the team. Now, just getting a summer under my belt, being at the facility almost every day, being with the team, the coaches, any chance to build up that chemistry and be comfortable with the team and with what we have going on.”
Wiggins is off to a strong start, following up his impressive showing at training camp by totaling an efficient 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, two assists and one steal in 12 minutes during the Heat’s 126-118 loss to the Orlando Magic to begin the preseason on Saturday night at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
After starting Saturday’s exhibition, Wiggins didn’t play in the second half as the Heat cycled through all 16 of its available players for its first of six preseason games.
“I do like this opportunity that he’s had in late July, August, September to really prepare,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wiggins. “He was in the gym, so we were able to see him a whole lot more, get to know each other more. He’s in very good shape. He’s feeling comfortable with what we’re trying to do. He has an opportunity to be such an impactful two-way player, both ends of the court.”
For a Heat team that has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, a rejuvenated Wiggins is among the things that Miami is relying on to take a step forward this season.
“We need it,” Spoelstra added, with the Heat set to play its second of six preseason games on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “We need him to take on all the big challenges defensively. He has great versatility. And then offensively, we want him to be aggressive. He has to create actions for us. He does a really good job playing off the ball, and we need that as well. But we need all of it.”
After being dealt to the Heat in February, Wiggins went on to miss 15 of the 32 regular-season games he was available for due to injury or illness. With those absences limiting the amount of time Wiggins got on the court with his new Heat teammates, he averaged just 11.5 points per game on 16-of-43 (37.2%) shooting from the field as part of a disappointing showing during the Heat’s first-round sweep out of the playoffs.
But the hope is that a full offseason and improved health will help Wiggins return to the player who proved to be a quality complementary piece for the Golden State Warriors. Wiggins, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was voted into the 2022 All-Star Game as a starter and logged the second-most minutes for the Warriors during the 2022 playoff run that ended in an NBA championship.
“My family definitely makes me a happier person,” Wiggins said of moving his family to Miami this offseason. “I love being around them. Just being here in Miami with my family has been the perfect spot for me.”
At times this offseason, there were questions whether Wiggins would even start this season in a Heat uniform. After the Heat included Wiggins in its trade offer for 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant before Durant was eventually dealt to the Houston Rockets early in the offseason, there remained speculation about Wiggins’ future with Miami.
But after acquiring guard Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in July, a league source said the Heat made the decision to keep Wiggins to see what this mix of players can accomplish this season.
“I don’t really look too much on social media and everything like that,” Wiggins said of dealing with the trade noise this summer. “I kind of stay away from it, with all the trades and what’s going on around the NBA and stuff like that. I’m more so just keeping to myself, keeping to my friends and the things that keep me level-headed.”
Wiggins has two seasons left on his contract, as he’s due $28.2 million this season and has a $30.2 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
“I love the competitive nature and I love the toughness,” Wiggins said of the Heat. “Not only from the players, but from the coaching staff. Everyone’s main goal is to win. Do whatever it takes to win. It might not be a pretty win. But we’re going to be gritty and get it out the mud. Every game is going to be a tough game. That’s what I love about this organization.”
HEAT OUTREBOUNDED
While preseason results eventually are forgotten, Spoelstra wasn’t pleased with the Heat’s rebounding in its preseason opener.
The Magic outscored the Heat 43-13 in second-chance points behind an eye-opening 22 offensive rebounds on Saturday.
“We need to correct it and we’ll get to work on that,” Spoelstra said. “We have been working on that. Everybody was talking about it at halftime. So that’s what I want to see is the recognition and then correction of it. We weren’t able to make that change in the second half. They just continued to pound us and they started to go a little harder in the second half, as you would expect.
“But there were some good things defensively from our efforts. But we have to finish those possessions off with more physicality.”
The Heat was among the NBA’s top defensive rebounding teams last regular season, posting the league’s third-best defensive rebounding percentage (the percentage of available defensive rebounds a team grabs) at 73.1%.
This story was originally published October 5, 2025 at 10:20 AM.
