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Andrew Wiggins Joins Exclusive Under-20 ROY Club

By Mark Vandeusen

Mar 30, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Wednesday, the news broke that Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves will be named the NBA’s 2014-15 Rookie of the Year.  From Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press:

"The Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward will be named rookie of the year on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the announcement told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. …Wiggins was the No. 1 overall pick by the Cavaliers last June, but was traded to the Timberwolves in August in the deal that sent disgruntled star Kevin Love to Cleveland. He won the first four Western Conference rookie of the month awards to make himself the prohibitive favorite to be named rookie of the year."

Wiggins averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 39 minutes per game for the T-Wolves.  He also suited up for all 82 regular season contests.

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With a number of other top draft picks missing most or all of the season (No. 2 Jabari Parker, No. 3 Joel Embiid and No. 7 Julius Randle), there wasn’t a lot of competition for Wiggins, whose scoring average was easily the best in his class.

The second-leading rookie scorer was Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers at 11.9 PPG, followed by the Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Mirotic with 10.2 PPG and Wiggins’ Minnesota teammate Zach LaVine at 10.1 PPG.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Nerlens Noel led all first-year players in rebounding with an average of 8.1, as well as blocks with 1.9 and steals with 1.8.  Noel was also fourth on the list in scoring at 9.9 PPG.

Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic was the rookie assist leader with 6.5 per game.  Payton also averaged 8.9 points (sixth), 4.3 rebounds (sixth) and 1.7 steals (second).

When the votes are released, Wiggins will most likely be the award’s runaway winner.  He’s also going to be one of the youngest NBA players ever to receive the honor.

ESPN Stats & Info sent out this tweet:

Here are the other four players to average more than 16 points per game below the age of 20 (based on ages as of Feb. 1 of that season):

LeBron James: 20.9 in 2003-04

Carmelo Anthony: 21.0 in 2003-04

Kevin Durant: 20.3 in 2007-08

Kyrie Irving: 18.5 in 2011-12

Like Wiggins, all four of them were also 19 years old.  Three of the four won Rookie of the Year as well–James, Durant and Irving.  Unfortunately for Anthony, he was stuck competing for the award in the same season as James.

If you add four or more reboards per game to the equation, only James, Anthony and Durant have matched Wiggins’ numbers at such a young age (Irving also played in just 51 games in his rookie season).

While Wiggins’ 16.9 scoring average is the lowest on the list, his rookie output compares favorably to these three superstars in a number of other categories.  His .437 field goal percentage is the best of the four, while his .310 three-point shooting is second only to Anthony’s .322.  Wiggins’ .517 true shooting percentage is also second (to Durant’s .519), and his 2.2 turnovers per game is easily the lowest of the bunch.

Is Wiggins a lock to become the next LeBron, Durant or Carmelo?  No.  But, the stats he put up as a 19-year-old imply there’s a good chance he could end up on that level.

Next: NBA's Top 10 Sophomores in 2014-15

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