Warriors star out indefinitely due to 'personal matter'

Last season, Wiggins was away from the team with a "family matter" for the final 25 games of the regular season, not returning to the court until the Warriors' first-round series against the Sacramento Kings. He was excellent in his return, averaging 17.6 points per game before breaking his ribs in the fifth game of the Warriors series with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wiggins never explained what his "family matter" was last season, but Shams Charania reported that his father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, was dealing with a serious illness.

That may be the case again this season. Coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors are still supporting their teammate, who is famously private about his personal life. No one in the organization publicly criticized Wiggins last year, nor questioned his commitment to basketball.

This year, Wiggins slumped badly to start the season, but he was playing his best basketball before this setback. In some ways, the Warriors are better served to absorb his absence this season, with the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga and rookie Brandin Podziemski. Wiggins leaving the team also coincided with Chris Paul returning to the court.

But the Warriors are in a more precarious position in the standings compared to last season. They've even with the Lakers in ninth place in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the sixth-place Phoenix Suns. They'll also play 15 of their final 25 games on the road.

The Warriors won't rush Wiggins or pressure him to return. He's clearly very important to his family.

He's also hugely important to the Warriors, who hope his personal matter, whatever it is, gets resolved as soon as possible.