Mitchell Wiggins, the father of Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins, has passed away at the age of 64.
Condolences to Andrew Wiggins and his family on the passing of his Father, Mitchell Wiggins.
🙏🏽 RIP Mitchell Wiggins pic.twitter.com/Kg5EuILC50
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) September 13, 2024
A six-year NBA veteran, Wiggins played for the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Philadelphia 76ers after being selected 23rd overall in the 1983 NBA Draft. In that time, he averaged 10.0 points per game, posting a career-high 15.5 points per game with the Rockets in 1989-90.
Mitchell Wiggins, father of Andrew Wiggins, came off the bench for the Rockets in Game 5 of the 1986 #NBAFinals against Boston and helped lead Houston to victory with 16 PTS and 7 REB! #NBAVault #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/2neSjzIKge
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 13, 2022
In 1992, Wiggins played for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, helping the U.S. men’s national team win silver.
Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins’s Father Passes Away After Battle With Illness
On Wednesday, Wiggins’s daughter Angelica posted a picture of him on Instagram with the caption: “Rest easy. You’ll forever be missed. I love you forever Daddy.”
Frankly, she nor Wiggins’s youngest son may not have been surprised by the news. Indeed, Wiggins missed a number of the Warriors’ games over the past two seasons for personal reasons. In Apr. 2023, The Athletic insider Shams Charania reported that the source of his consternation was his father’s poor health.
Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins plans to attend Warriors-Thunder on Tuesday. The reason for Wiggins’ leave of absence since mid-February is that his father, Mitchell Wiggins, has been dealing with a serious medical situation, sources close to the situation say. 🙏🏽
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2023
Then, in March, he stepped away from the team indefinitely. This summer, he was forced to cut his China trip short.
Unfortunately, it has not been disclosed what medical issue that Wiggins was ailing from. Nonetheless, he leaves behind daughters Angelica, Stephanie and Taya; sons Andrew, Mitchell, and Nick; and wife Marita Payne-Wiggins. Since the news broke, there has been an outpouring of support for the Wiggins family amid the tragic loss of their family patriarch.
