Chriss believes it's ‘weird' Wiggins' work ethic is questioned

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Andrew Wiggins joined the Warriors about a month before the 2019-20 NBA season was shut down because of the pandemic.

Was that enough time for Marquese Chriss to learn about Wiggins and his work ethic?

"It's weird to me that his work ethic is in question," Chriss said on a Thursday afternoon conference call. "I've never seen anything that would make me say that he's not a hard worker.

"I think the game just comes so easy to him that it looks nonchalant. When you're that athletic and that talented, it might look like that. But I've never questioned that he was working hard or not trying.

"I just think he's that good."

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Wiggins' motor and energy levels have been questioned since he was a freshman at the University of Kansas. And the scrutiny only intensified when he entered the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

"There are some things that I need out of him, and that is the commitment to be a better player than you are today," Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said about Wiggins back in August 2017. "He seems to have the ability, and so the only thing it would be is for some reason he didn't work hard enough to obtain the skillsets. That's what you're asking him to commit to."

The narrative grew louder a year later.

"Sources familiar with the situation told Sporting News that [Jimmy] Butler is uncertain about playing with Wiggins — Butler had problems last season with Wiggins, his work ethic and his approach on the defensive end of the floor," Sean Deveney wrote.

RELATED: Wiggins responds to viral Warriors photo of him looking buff

The 25-year-old has the opportunity to change the perception about him now that he is rocking a Warriors uniform.

“I was coming into the season with the mentality that I’ve got to go," Wiggins said Thursday. "You just want to reach that level, reach that potential that you have within. And I’m going to keep working toward it.

“I always feel like I can get better. I always feel like I can do more.”

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