Sometimes, we tend to measure success in terms of the expectations we had, and that’s why some people don’t seem to like Andrew Wiggins. He was one of the most hyped prospects in NBA Draft history, often drawing comparisons to legends of the game like Kobe Bryant. Needless to say, he’s failed to live up to those expectations, but it’s not like he’s been a bust or played poorly. Andrew Wiggins has dealt with a lot since he entered the NBA.
Even so, he’s made great strides since being acquired by the Golden State Warriors, going from an overpaid, inefficient scorer to a solid two-way player and one of the main responsible behind their recent success and latest NBA championship.
Wiggins hasn’t always been able to excel as you’d expect from a guy with his contract, but he’s still a guy most coaches would like to have on their ranks every day of the year. Here, we’re going to talk about Wiggins’ recent breakout and his years prior, from his birth all the way to Kansas and his NBA debut.
Andrew Wiggins – Early Life
Andrew Wiggins was born in Toronto, Ontario, on February 23, 1995. He’s the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and former Olympic track and field sprinter Marita Payne-Wiggins, a Canadian of Barbados descent. Andrew Wiggins’ parents met as student-athletes while attending Florida State University. His family has privileged genes and athletic traits, as his two older brothers played college basketball. Also, he has three sisters.
Wiggins showed a lot of promise and was nearly obsessed with basketball growing up. He started playing organized hoops at just nine years old, playing for a U10 team in Toronto. Notably, he was already 5’7” at the time. He started dunking at just 13 years old, growing to 6’6” in the blink of an eye. Notably, became famous around the area for shattering a glass backboard after a dunk at the Dufferin Clark Community Centre in Vaughan.
Andrew Wiggins – High School Hooping
Wiggins attended Vaughan Secondary School but was there for more than just purely educational purposes. In just his second year on the AAAA team, he led them to the Ontario provincial championship after a 44-1 record, showing just a glimpse of what he could bring to the table. Despite chants of ‘overrated’ in the championship game, he still delivered with 25 points and 13 boards to help his team clinch the title.
Andrew quickly outgrew his small high school and moved to the USA to transfer to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia for his third junior season. He made the news again as soon as they acquired his services. Wiggins was considered the top prospect of the 2014 class but he decided to reclassify back into his original high school class of 2013. Notably, he was also considered the best young player in the nation in that class, ahead of future NBA player Jabari Parker.
Andrew Wiggins – A Star In College Basketball
Unsurprisingly, major college programs reached out to Wiggins via Email, phone, Facebook, and every other way they could try and contact him. He had dozens of offers sitting at his table, but eventually, he decided to join Kansas, choosing them over Kentucky, Florida State, and North Carolina.
There, Wiggins made an immediate impact, becoming just one of two freshmen to score at least 17 points and 19 rebounds in a game against a ranked opponent, leading the Jayhawks over Iowa State. During his lone year in college, Wiggins had a scoring average of 17.1 points to go along with 5.9 rebounds per game. His team fell short in the NCAA tournament but he was ready to take a step forward in his basketball career and join the Draft.
Andrew Wiggins – NBA Draft
Andrew Wiggins looked like the only can’t-miss kind of talent in his unimpressive draft class. He was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the second Canadian to earn that distinction after the Cavs took Anthony Bennett first overall one year prior.
Nonetheless, his days at ‘The Land’ would be short-lived, as LeBron James’ come back to his hometown led them to a huge blockbuster deal. The Cavs traded Wiggins and Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves alongside Thaddeus Young. In return, the Cavs got Kevin Love to round up their Big 3. With that move, Wiggins became just the second player since the ABA-NBA merger to be traded as a first overall pick without playing a single game for the franchise that drafted him, joining Chris Webber on that bizarre list.
Andrew Wiggins – Trade To The Minnesota Timberwolves
It was the dawn of a new era in Timberwolves basketball. They acquired two former first overall picks and were thought to excel in years to come, but that was far from the case. One of their recently-acquired prospects struggled badly, with Bennett barely stepping on the floor. Wiggins scored six points in his regular-season debut, and it didn’t take long before he turned a lot of heads. He scored a then-career-high 33 points on January 31, punishing his ‘Former’ Cavs team. Eventually, he ran away with Rookie of the Year honors.
But Wiggins’ development kind of stalled after his successful rookie season. Behind topping his career-high with a 35-point explosion on January 8 against the Cavs, there weren’t many highlights in his sophomore year, with the Timberwolves looking at a high draft pick again.
Then, in his third season, Wiggins became the first Canadian-born player to score 40+ in a game, establishing a career-best of 47 points. He scored 40 again the next day to become the first Minnesota player to log back-to-back 40-point efforts. At the end of next month with a 27-point outburst against the Dallas Mavericks, Wiggins tied a franchise record by scoring 20+ points in 16 straight games.
Wiggins was still promising but not consistent enough, and even though multiple teams were reportedly interested in him, Timberwolves’ owners still thought he could turn out to be a generational basketball player. He signed a massive contract extension and they acquired Jimmy Butler to try and make a playoff push. He played well and scored a personal best 22 points in the first half of a win against the Raptors in January.
Later in the season, he became the sixth youngest player to score over 6,000 career points (22 years, 349 days). The next season was the same old story, following great performances with big duds. His best games of the season came in January, scoring 31 on January 6, recording his first triple-double on January 8, and scoring 35 on January 27 (35 points).
Wiggins’ scoring averages started to plummet and it became clear that his pairing with Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t going to get the job done. The Timberwolves failed to make the playoffs and decided to trade him away to the Golden State Warriors in return for Jacob Evans, D’Angelo Russell, and Omari Spellman.
Andrew Wiggins – A Fresh Start With The Golden State Warriors
What Wiggins brought to the table in Steve Kerr’s team was more than most people expected. He immediately turned the page as soon as they acquired him. He vowed to play the best defense of his career and ranked among the team’s leaders in win shares.
Next to Stephen Curry, he played a major role in helping the Golden State Warriors clinch a spot in the play-in tournament and the 9th spot in the Western Conference table. Once considered a basketball prodigy, the former first pick of the Draft put his woes behind him and got a fresh start in Golden State, becoming a fan favorite on the site already. He may not be as good as other players but the Warriors clearly won the Wiggins trade.
He played outstanding defense over Jayson Tatum in the 2022 NBA Finals and was the second-best player on the team to help them clinch the championship. He went from being questioned and called out to one of the most efficient two-way players in the Association in the span of just two years.
Andrew Wiggins – Awards And Accolades
Wiggins has found plenty of success throughout his basketball career. From his days in High School, he was named to the First-Team Parade All-American, was a McDonald’s All-American, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Mr. Basketblall USA, and the Gatorade National Player of the Year. He was later elected to the First-Team All-Big 12, named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and consensus Second-Team All-American for his performances with Kansas.
He won one NBA championship and was also named to the All-Rookie First Team and earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors, posting career averages of 19.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals per game. Also, he helped Canada’s basketball win bronze medals in the 2015 FIBA AmeriCup, the FIBA U17 World Cup, and the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Andrew Wiggins – Contract And Career Earnings
As a former number one overall pick of the draft, Andrew Wiggins has been making a big buck since he entered the league. According to Sports Reference, he’s already netted $107,364,132 for his NBA salary alone. Since signing his max extension (fully guaranteed, five years, $147,710,050), he’s made an average yearly salary of $29,542,010.
He’s currently making $31,579,390 and will earn $33,616,770 in the final year of his deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent. The Warriors acquired him at a big price, but not many teams will put offers that big on his table, though.
Is Andrew Wiggins an All Star?
On December 6, 2021, Wiggins made a career-high eight three-pointers and scored 28 points in a win over the Orlando Magic. Just a month later on January 27, 2022, he was selected to be a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team.
Who is Wiggins’ father?
The father of Andrew Wiggins is former NBA All-Star, Mitchell Wiggins. Mitchell Wiggins was a very talented player in his own right, but he is probably best remembered for his drug addiction and subsequent suspension from the NBA. Despite his personal struggles, Mitchell Wiggins was able to father one of the most promising young players in the NBA today.
