SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Wiggins officially returned to the Warriors on Tuesday, when the veteran small forward spoke publicly for the first time since leaving the team for personal reasons in mid-February.

Wiggins, whose absence was the result of a serious medical situation with his father, wore his Warriors practice gear while sitting next to Golden State president of basketball operations Bob Myers during a news conference that lasted nearly 15 minutes and preceded his team’s game against Oklahoma City. Here’s what you need to know:

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• While it’s unclear when Wiggins will return to action with the defending champions, he made it clear that it likely won’t be long. Warriors coach Steve Kerr wouldn’t rule out a return this weekend when the Warriors play at Sacramento on Friday and at Portland on Sunday.
• Wiggins was training while away from the team, though Kerr indicated that he declined the organization’s offer to have someone from the team assist with his fitness while he was away.
• The Warriors supported Wiggins’ choice to leave the team throughout his extended absence, and that sentiment was there for all to see when Myers appeared to get emotional during his press conference comments.

What Wiggins said

Wiggins shared some details about his training regimen while he was away from the team.

“Just getting a lot of shots up, little movements here and there on the court,” said Wiggins, who is known to have been working with a personal trainer. “Running on the treadmill. Working out just a little bit. Lifting. Just trying to stay as ready as I could under the circumstances.”

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From the tenor of his comments, though, it’s clear that he did limited cardio work and will need to ramp up his conditioning.

Wiggins also discussed the strong support he had from the locker room.

“It was all just love and support,” Wiggins said. “I had a lot of teammates just hitting me up, sending their love and their prayers. I just appreciate it all. It goes a long way. It’s more than basketball. … I’m excited (to return). I’m very excited. That’s the best part of basketball, you know, the competitive part. So I’ve been away from the game for a little while, but I’m excited to get back.”

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Timing is everything

Better late than never, the Warriors have their team back again. More specifically, they have two players in Wiggins and Gary Payton II whose defensive abilities had everything to do with their title run last season. And as Wiggins showed in the Finals against Boston last season, his two-way talents are crucial to this club.

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Considering the defensive struggles this time around — they’re 18th in defensive rating after finishing third last season — his return is a massive boon to a team that has struggled on that end all season long. The Warriors, who went 12-10 without Wiggins while having the league’s 14th-best defensive rating during that time, had improved on that end of late. Wiggins’ scoring (17.1 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting), rebounding (five per) and occasional playmaking (2.3 assists per) will certainly come in handy, too.

The question now is whether or not they can put these familiar pieces back together in time to make a title run. As Kerr reminded reporters in his news conference, the first priority is ensuring a playoff berth. Entering play against the Thunder, the sixth-place Warriors (41-38) were only a half-game out of play-in territory (the Lakers and Pelicans were tied for seventh).

Backstory

Wiggins’ absence began the game before the All-Star break, Feb. 14 at the Clippers. This is the first season in his career he’s missed significant time. He’d already missed 20 of the first 57 games before this stretch of absences.

Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was an All-Star in 2022. He signed a 4-year, $109 million extension last October.

Required reading

• As the Warriors head into the final week of the regular season, what’s at stake?
• Thompson: Andrew Wiggins has the Warriors on his side, and that says a lot
• On the night of Andrew Wiggins’ return, Jordan Poole leads late Warriors explosion

(Photo: Cary Edmondson / USA Today)

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Category: WHY