Two years after the best All-Star season of his career, few believe Andrew Wiggins can fully return to the level at which he was the second-best player on a Golden State Warriors championship-winning team.

Wiggins is coming off the worst season of his career, averaging nearly four fewer points than any year since entering the league in 2014. But despite that and a minor illness that caused him to miss the first three preseason games, the talk from Golden State remains extremely positive when it comes to the former No. 1 overall pick.

After a tumultuous time over the last two years, which included the death of his father last month, one could understand if the Warriors limited expectations for Wiggins, at least early in the season. Instead, they are doing the exact opposite, with head coach Steve Kerr expressing high expectations for his veteran striker.

While many believe Jonathan Kuminga is the natural successor to the position of Golden State’s second-leading scorer following the departure of Klay Thompson, Kerr has repeatedly pushed Wiggins as the man to take over the mantle.

“He seems very comfortable in every aspect of the game” Kerr recently told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke. “And let’s be honest, with Klay gone, we need him to be our second goalscorer after Steph, and we know he’s fully capable of doing that.”

However, is belief actually justified? Is Wiggins really capable of becoming the second-leading scorer on a team that makes the playoffs? Even during his All-Star season in 2022, the Canadian was fourth on the team behind Stephen Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole. It was arguably his defense that was more valuable, not to mention he just happened to turn into a rebounding beast during the playoffs.

Kerr has previously described Wiggins as a 20-point-per-game scorer, although he never reached that average during his time with Golden State. He also wants the 29-year-old to make six three-point attempts every game, which would be a significant increase from the 3.6 average in the 2023-24 season.

Kerr’s optimism will certainly resonate throughout the fan base, but it could also doom Wiggins given the clear expectations the head coach has set. Wiggins could return in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, but it is more likely he will play in the final two preseason games against the Los Angeles Lakers once he plays with the team early next week.