Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Miami Heat dribbles during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on December 18, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Sarah Stier Getty Images
The trade rumors involving Miami Heat veteran forward Andrew Wiggins began this past offseason, and that speculation involving Wiggins’ future with the Heat is expected to continue in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.
But as long as Wiggins is with Miami, Heat coaches and players know they’re a better team when Wiggins is aggressive and assertive on the offensive end.
“They just tell me an aggressive me is the best version of myself,” Wiggins, 30, said ahead of Monday night’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center. “So, I just got to stay with it and continuously do it.”
Wiggins did it in Saturday’s home victory over the Indiana Pacers, totaling 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. It marked his second-best Basketball-Reference game score (a catch-all metric that summarizes a player’s overall single-game performance) of the season and his third-best Basketball-Reference game score since the Golden State Warriors traded him to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler deal in February.
“It’s just fun to see him when he’s competing at that level,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wiggins. “He has those kinds of gifts to be able to make the difficult look easy. The contests, the blocks, the multiple efforts that he’s able to do defensively in the zone, those are not easy things. And then he really got on a roll offensively. And he did it from every facet, putting his head down, getting some in transition, making some midrange, some threes. But he was just very assertive.
“We’re a better basketball team when he has that mindset. It might not lead to this kind of stat line, but that mindset is really important for our team.”
The issue is Wiggins isn’t always so assertive, as he entered Monday with six games of 10 points or fewer and five games of 10 field-goal attempts or fewer through his first 28 appearances this season.
The Heat needs and wants more than that from Wiggins in every game, as he has proven to be a quality complementary piece during his NBA career. Wiggins, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was voted into the 2022 All-Star Game as a starter and logged the second-most minutes for the Warriors during the 2022 playoff run that ended in an NBA championship.
“We need him to be aggressive, assertive on offense,” Heat guard Norman Powell said of Wiggins. “Doing the little things, playing off of the catch, attacking guys, put them in the post, just being confident in everything that he does and aggressive. I really like that, and then also just his energy, keeping plays alive. His second jumps on offensive rebounds and then his athletic ability on the defensive end.”
Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) looks on after a play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half of their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Nov. 12, 2025, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Wiggins entered Monday averaging 16.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 39.8% from three-point range in his 12th NBA season.
Wiggins has two seasons left on his contract, but he can become a free agent this upcoming offseason. He’s due $28.2 million this season and has a $30.2 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
“I love playing with Wiggs,” Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “He just does so much. He impacts the game at so many levels. Defensively, offensively, just a guy that impacts the game in so many ways, and he’s a big help to our group.”
BENCH GROUP
Wiggins has also led the Heat’s bench lineups recently, and the results have been very positive.
Entering Monday’s matchup against the Nuggets, the quartet of Wiggins, Jaquez, Nikola Jovic and Dru Smith has outscored opponents by a dominant 28 points in 29 minutes together during the past two games — both wins.
For the season, this four-man combination is a plus-37 in 101 minutes together.
“We’re still finding out information about our team, right?,” Spoelstra said when asked about that lineup combination. “And we’ve had some injuries, so it’s been tough to totally find things out. But I’ve cycled through a few guys in that lineup. And for two nights, I like it. I think defensively it made us dynamic.
“I think just the way the contrast of, yes, [Wiggins] can run, and he’s an athlete, but he’s naturally like a settle-you-down type player. And then you have Niko and Jaime running. I just think it’s a good contrast. It gives you also that size. So if you’re playing Niko at center, you also have Jaime and Wiggs, who are big wings. But it looked good the last two nights. And anything that’s looking good right now. It’s like, all right, let’s try to lean into those things.”
INJURY REPORT
Both the Heat and Nuggets will be short-handed for Monday’s game.
The Heat remains without Vlad Goldin (G League), Tyler Herro (right big toe contusion), Terry Rozier (not with team) and Jahmir Young (G League). But Bam Adebayo is probable to play after missing the past two games with lower back soreness.
The Nuggets ruled out Tamar Bates (left foot surgery), Christian Braun (left ankle sprain), Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain) and Cameron Johnson (right knee injury management).