Andrew Wiggins takes SECOND leave of absence from Golden State Warriors in two seasons, as Steve Kerr says guard is dealing with a ‘personal matter’

Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins will take his second leave from the team in two seasons.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Wiggins is expected to return, but did not provide a timeline for when the guard will return to basketball.

Wiggins is averaging 12.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season, as Golden State sits in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, the lowest place to qualify for the Play-In Tournament.

Before the All-Star break last season, Wiggins also took a leave of absence from the team to handle a family matter.

Although Wiggins has not confirmed what particular family issue he left the Warriors for, The Athletic reported that Wiggins’ father was dealing with a medical emergency.

Kerr did not go into details about Wiggins’ situation, but did say it was a ‘personal matter’

“We are in a position where Wiggs is a private person and he is asked to keep it private and we will honor that,” Kerr said. “So it doesn’t help me to sit here and try to explain any of that.”

“The bottom line is we respect Wiggs, we need him and we hope he comes back, but we don’t know when that will be,” Kerr added.

Golden State has a four-game lead for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference over the Utah Jazz.

The Warriors are also 3.5 games out of fifth place, with the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans maintaining the final two spots guaranteed to reach the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Wiggins’ last absence lasted 25 games, the remainder of the regular season.

His absence comes as the Warriors were going through their best stretch of the season, winning 11 of their last 14 games.