The Golden State Warriors are going to have a tough time watching the Miami Heat next season. Not only did Giannis Antetokunmpo head to South Beach after years of interest coming from the Bay Area, but more recently franchise legend Klay Thompson also arrived to join the former Milwaukee Bucks superstar.
The whole Thompson situation, and missing out on Antetokunmpo, leaves a wound the Warriors will have to reconcile with, only that’s been made much harder by Andrew Wiggins’ recent comments talking about reuniting with his former championship teammate.
Andrew Wiggins rubs salt in Warriors wound with Klay Thompson comments
Wiggins and Thompson played in 161 games together at the Warriors, highlighted by the 2022 NBA championship where they were arguably the second and third-best players behind Stephen Curry. While they won’t necessarily have the same responsibility at the Heat, Wiggins is looking forward to once again taking to the floor with the five-time All-Star.
"He’s going to fill the locker room with joy. On the court, everyone knows what he brings to the table. It’s a joy to have him on the team. He’s one of one. He brings that championship mentality to the team and this is a year that we can do something special and he’s someone that can be a big part of it,” Wiggins said.
"He's one of the most competitive people I've played with... It's a joy to have him on the team. Klay is one-of-one."@22wiggins is excited to reunite with his former teammate @KlayThompson in South Beach this season 🌴
— NBA (@NBA) September 3, 2026
(via @MiamiHEAT)pic.twitter.com/9t5BRp1Q6P
The Warriors would have to be conflicted about this whole scenario. They would surely want only the best for Wiggins and Thompson, particularly the latter who is coming toward the end of his career and has missed the playoffs in each of the past three years.
Yet at the same time, Miami generating enormous success could only serve to further prove Golden State’s incompetence. The inability to have Thompson walk into the sunset at the place he made home for 13 years, a Wiggins-Jimmy Butler trade that still has steps to unfold, and perhaps most notably, the failure to acquire Antetokounmpo despite over half a decade of interest where they retained all their draft capital for an ill-advised run at the two-time MVP.
Heat have chance to deepen Warriors regret
These are all elements that sit in the background bubbling away, but haven’t yet exploded to the surface in a way that would make the Warriors truly regret the decisions that have led to this outcome.
That could all change this season if Antetokounmpo leads Miami back to the Finals for the first time since Butler did in 2023, and if Wiggins and Thompson play key roles in their success and a deep playoff run.
Wiggins’ comments on Thompson’s arrival only burn the Warriors further, but it could be about to get a whole lot worse once the season gets underway and if things come together for the Heat as they’ve envisioned.
