Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Christian Wiggins is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks before being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making him just the second Canadian to be taken number one overall in the NBA draft. He went on to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honours for the 2014–15 season. Wiggins is also a member of the Canadian national team. In February 2020 after spending his first seasons with the Wolves, Wiggins was traded to the Warriors.
Early life
Wiggins was born in Toronto and raised in the nearby Thornhill neighbourhood of Vaughan, Ontario. He is the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, an American, and former Olympic track and field sprinter Marita Payne-Wiggins, a Canadian who is originally from Barbados. His parents met as student athletes at Florida State University. He attended elementary school at Glen Shields Public School in Vaughan.Wiggins began playing organized basketball when he was nine, joining an under-10 team in Toronto. At the time, he was. He dunked a basketball for the first time when he was 13, and a year later, he grew to and shattered a glass backboard after dunking on a rim at the Dufferin Clark Community Centre in Vaughan.
High school career
Wiggins attended Vaughan Secondary School in Vaughan for his first two years of high school. In his 2010–11 sophomore year, he led the school's AAAA basketball team to a 44–1 record, en route to winning the Ontario provincial championship. In the championship game, he scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, amid chants of "Over-rated!" from the crowd.In 2011, he transferred to Huntington Prep School in Huntington, West Virginia. During his junior season, he averaged 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. As a senior, he averaged 23.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.5 assists per game.
Wiggins had been rated as the top prospect for 2014, but announced in October 2012 that he would officially reclassify into his original high school class of 2013, and was immediately placed ahead of the previous number one prospect, Jabari Parker, by ESPN.
On February 7, 2013, after an article in Sports Illustrated criticized Canadian basketball and Wiggins' work ethic, he responded later that day, scoring 57 points in a 111–59 win over Marietta College.
Wiggins was named the 2013 Naismith Prep Player of the Year on February 25. He was named the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year on March 28 as the nation's top high school player. He was the first Canadian player to be so named. In May 2013, he was named Mr. Basketball USA. He was ranked number one high school basketball player by SLAM magazine.
In April 2013, Wiggins played in the Jordan Brand Classic All-American game in Brooklyn. He scored 19 points and tied Julius Randle for lead scorer for the East team.
College career
Wiggins committed to Kansas on May 14, 2013. Before the announcement, he had narrowed his choices to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina. Wiggins joined the Kansas team on June 19, 2013.On January 13, 2014, Wiggins scored 17 points and collected 19 rebounds in a 77–70 victory over Iowa State, becoming only the second freshman in the last 15 years to amass those numbers in a win against a ranked opponent.
Wiggins averaged 17.1 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and made 34.1% of his three-pointers in his freshman year at Kansas. On January 22, 2014, Wiggins was named a Top 25 Finalist for the John R. Wooden Men's Player of the Year award by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. On February 28, he was named one of the 10 semi-finalists for Naismith College Player of the Year.
On March 8, 2014, Wiggins scored 41 points against West Virginia, the most for a Big 12 Conference freshman since Michael Beasley scored 44 points against Baylor in 2008.
Professional career
Minnesota Timberwolves (2014–2020)
2014–15 season
Wiggins declared for the 2014 NBA draft on March 31, 2014. He was selected first overall in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 26, 2014, becoming just the second Canadian ever picked number one in the draft, after Anthony Bennett, who had been selected first overall one year prior in the 2013 NBA draft, also by Cleveland. On August 23, a three-team trade was completed involving the Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, Wiggins and Bennett were traded to the Wolves, along with Thaddeus Young, then of the Sixers. The Cavaliers received Kevin Love from Minnesota, while the Sixers received Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and a 2015 first-round draft pick from Cleveland. Wiggins became just the second player since the ABA–NBA merger to be drafted as the number one pick, only to be traded afterwards without playing a single game for the team he was originally selected for; Chris Webber was the first following the 1993 draft.guarding Wiggins in his rookie season with the Timberwolves, December 2014
In his NBA debut on October 29, 2014, Wiggins scored six points in a 105–101 season-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He went on to earn the Western Conference Rookie of the Month honours for the first two months of the season. On January 31, he scored 33 points in a loss to the Cavaliers. On February 13, Wiggins won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP after scoring 22 points for Team World in a 121–112 win over Team USA. On April 30, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2014–15 season.
2015–16 season
On November 7, 2015, Wiggins scored a game-high 31 points in a 102–93 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. Two days later, he tied his career high with 33 points in a 117–107 win over the Atlanta Hawks, thus recording consecutive 30-point games for the first time in his career. On December 18, he recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 99–95 win over the Sacramento Kings, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Tobias Harris as the only players 20 or younger to record at least 30 points, 10 boards and five assists in a game since 2000. On January 8, 2016, he scored a then career-high 35 points in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.2016–17 season
On November 8, 2016, Wiggins scored a career-high 36 points and hit a career-best six three-pointers in a 119–110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Five days later, he set a new career high with 47 points in a 125–99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first Canadian-born player to score 40-plus points in an NBA game. On February 14, he had a 41-point effort in a 116–108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The following day, he scored 40 points in a 112–99 win over the Denver Nuggets, becoming just the second Minnesota player to record back-to-back 40-point games. On February 24, he scored 27 points in a 97–84 win over the Dallas Mavericks, topping 20 points for the 16th straight game, tying a franchise record.2017–18 season
On October 11, 2017, Wiggins signed a five-year, $148 million contract extension with the Timberwolves. On October 22, he scored 27 points and hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Timberwolves to a 115–113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On January 20, 2018, he scored 22 of his season-high 29 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 115–109 win over the Toronto Raptors. Two days later, he set a new season high with 40 points in a 126–118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. On February 7, 2018, in a 140–138 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wiggins reached 6,000 career points. At 22 years, 349 days, he became the sixth-youngest player to reach the plateau.2018–19 season
On October 24, 2018, Wiggins was inactive for only the second time in his career, sitting out the Timberwolves' loss to the Toronto Raptors because of a bruised right quadriceps. The last time Wiggins was inactive was November 10, 2015, when he sat out a loss to the Charlotte Hornets because of a sore right knee. Wiggins returned to action on October 31 against the Utah Jazz after missing three games. He struggled early in the season, culminating in an 0-for-12 shooting night on November 24 against the Chicago Bulls. It was the first time in his career he finished a game scoreless. On December 23, he scored 30 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining to help the Timberwolves defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114–112. He topped that total with 31 points on January 6 against Boston Celtics. On January 6, he scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 108–86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Two days later, he had a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds in a 119–117 win over the Thunder. On January 18 against the San Antonio Spurs, Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell for second place on the franchise's career scoring list. On January 27, he scored a game-high 35 points in a 125–111 loss to the Jazz.2019–20 season
On January 18, 2020, Wiggins achieved his first career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.Golden State Warriors (2020–present)
On February 6, 2020, Wiggins and two draft picks were traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jacob Evans, D'Angelo Russell and Omari Spellman.Wiggins scored 24 points and had five steals in his debut for the Warriors during a 125–120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
National team career
Wiggins participated in the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and 2012 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, helping the Canadian junior national team win a bronze medal in each tournament. During the 2010 tournament, Wiggins was a teammate of Anthony Bennett, the number one overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and his former teammate on the Timberwolves. In the 2012 tournament, he led the team in scoring with 15.2 ppg, along with 7.6 rpg.On August 20, 2015, Wiggins was named to the Canadian national team roster for the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Wiggins helped Canada win the bronze medal; he led the team in scoring, with 15.1 points per game, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.