PORTLAND — Andrew Wiggins has felt like his back was against the wall from the outset. After the Warriors’ preseason opener Monday night, he explained that corner was eventually enough to force him to take the COVID-19 vaccine against his will.

Wiggins concluded that it was either his conviction or his career. He chose to get a shot of Johnson & Johnson last week.

“I feel like the only options were to get vaccinated or not be in the NBA,” Wiggins said after a 121-107 win in Portland. “It was a tough decision. Hopefully it works in the long run and, in 10 years, I’m still healthy. … Time was not on my side. The season was starting soon. I didn’t want to miss basketball. I didn’t want to get the vaccination. But it was something I had to do. … That’s not something I wanted to do, but I was kind of forced.”

Teammate Stephen Curry weighed in for the first time since Wiggins decided to get the shot before Monday’s game, saying “It’s a good sign he’s handling his responsibilities as a part of the team. … (But) I wouldn’t think badly of him had it not turned out that way.”

Asked if the league’s rule or how the process played out left a sour taste in his mouth, Wiggins replied, “Not towards the organization.” He’s received the full public support from his teammates and coach Steve Kerr, who has declined to answer any questions regarding the saga after announcing Sunday that Wiggins had received the shot.

“They didn’t make the rule,” he continued. “I guess to do certain stuff, to work and all that, I guess you don’t own your body. That’s what it comes down to. You want to work in society today, I guess they make the rules of what goes into your body and what you do. Hopefully there’s a lot of people out there that are stronger than me and keep fighting. Stand for what they believe and hopefully it works out for them.”

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Wiggins’ hesitancy to get the shot was rooted in his family’s history as well as a bad reaction to another previous treatment, he said. He also said he had already contracted COVID-19 and it “wasn’t too bad.”

“A couple of years ago, I had an allergic reaction to something. It was a scary moment. I carry an EpiPen now,” Wiggins said. “No one in my family is vaccinated. It’s not really something that we believe in as a family. But we’ll see how stuff goes.”

It’s not as simple as getting the shot and putting it behind him, Wiggins said. He was always more concerned about the potential long-term effects, he said.

“It feels good to play. But, you know, getting vaccinated, that’s going to be something that stays in my mind for a long time,” Wiggins said. “I don’t know what it’s going to do to me in 10 years. Gene damage. There’s no studies on whether it’s going to cause cancerous cells. I don’t know what it’s going to do to my body. There’s a lot of stuff. I feel like I could go on for days about why I didn’t want to get it. Most importantly, I don’t know what’s going to happen or what it’s going to do to my body in 10, 20 years.”