You might not have known that one of Andrew Wiggins' nicknames is "Maple Jordan."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr wasn't aware of the Canadian forward's aliases, and he was caught very off-guard when informed of it by NBC Sports Bay Area's Kerith Burke during his media availability ahead of Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors.
"I'm sorry that's a thing?" Kerr asked with a laugh during his video conference call with reporters. "For how long?"
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"Since he was drafted, I believe," Burke replied. " ... Will you use it in the future?"
"Will I use it? Most likely not, Kerith, but it's good to have as an option."
Kerr coached Wiggins for just 21 games heading into Sunday, so I can't blame him for not knowing Wiggins had a punny nickname honoring Michael Jordan and Canada's status as the world's largest exporter of maple. Nor would I blame Kerr if he didn't call Wiggins "Mr. Fantastic" (a nickname 10-year-old Wiggins gave himself), "Junior Jordan" (Wiggins' eighth-grade yearbook nickname), or "The Prospect" (another one of Wiggins' eighth-grade nicknames).
None of those nicknames roll of the tongue like "Wiggs," which Kerr has used in press conferences, or even "Andrew," which is ... well, Wiggins' first name. No matter what Kerr has called him this season, Wiggins is starting to find his game.
The 25-year-old made just 10 of his first 36 field goals this season, but Wiggins is averaging 19.0 points (on 48.5 percent shooting from the field and 46.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line) over his last seven games entering Sunday.
If Wiggins keeps this up, Kerr can call him a key contributor.
Or, just Andrew. That works, too.
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