NBA: Andrew Wiggins Flashing Star Potential
On June 26, 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers made Andrew Wiggins the No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft. On August 23, 2014, the Cavaliers traded Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for two-time All-NBA power forward Kevin Love.
In early January of 2015, Wiggins is beginning to pull away as the front-runner for the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year award.
More importantly, he’s starting to flash his star potential.
Wiggins struggled to open up the season, scoring in single-digits in each of his first three games. Although he began to hit his stride, scoring a career-high 29 points on November 22, the opening month of the season featured inconsistent shooting and multiple games below 10 points.
Things have changed.
Andrew Wiggins has 20+ points in 3 straight games and 5 of his past 6 appearances. He had 20+ in 4 of his first 26 games played.
— Maxwell Ogden (@MaxwellOgden) January 4, 2015
Not only is Wiggins playing well, but he’s performing at a sustainable level.
Still only 19 years old, the Timberwolves’ rising star continues to be a bright spot in a dark season. Behind he and Shabazz Muhammad, Minnesota has maintained a high level of perimeter offense without the injured Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio.
In the process, Wiggins has separated himself from the rest of the pack in the Rookie of the Year discussion.
The Canadian export currently leads all rookies in scoring with 13.8 points per game. He upped that number to 14.6 points per contest in December and is averaging 16.2 points over his past 10 games.
He already has a pair of 20-point performances in January.
That includes a 27-point performance against the team that drafted him.
As of January 3, Wiggins has at least 20 points in five of his past six games.
The only other rookie averaging double-digit scoring is Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately, he’s already out of the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Parker suffered a Torn ACL on December 15 and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season.
The likes of Nerlens Noel and K.J. McDaniels have played intriguingly well, but it’s Wiggins who’s the at the front of the pack.
Beyond the statistics, Wiggins is displaying a well-rounded offensive attack. Not only does he score in a traditional manner—jump shooting, slashing and attacking in transition—but he continues to go to the post.
Standing at 6’8″, the first-year shooting guard has been effective in doing so.
Elite NBA shooting guards develop that skill. For most, it takes more than 32 games to do it.
Wiggins has a long way to go before he enters the realm of the elite, but he’s well on his way. He’s playing with the poise and aggressiveness that a leader, and more specifically, a leading scorer requires.
The numbers will soon follow.
There are still areas where he must improve, specifically in creating his own looks. Leading up to his current stretch of consistently productive play, he’d failed to do so in an adequate manner.
That’s changing. Rapidly.
While his present-day statistics may not send chills up your spine, he’s separating himself from the competition. He’s shining in almost every phase of the game and, at least during his rookie season, appears to be the No. 1 player in the 2014 draft class.
At his current rate, Wiggins is pulling away as the front-runner for the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Most significantly, he’s proving that the hype was warranted.
Next: Who will follow in Andrew Wiggins' footsteps? Who are the top prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft?