Why Andrew Wiggins Is Like Tracy McGrady

By Christopher Cruz | Feb 26, 2015

Feb 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles against Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) in the second half at Toyota Center. Rockets won 113 to 102. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

It wouldn’t be accurate to compare Andrew Wiggins with players like Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James. Wiggins doesn’t have the seemingly innate passing skills and vision that LeBron did when he came into the league at 18 years old. He isn’t particularly good at anything right now.

His defense has been lacking, although admittedly it is tough for a 20-year-old to simply play defense if his team is really bad.

His DRPM (Defensive Real Plus-Minus) is minus-.95, which is 26th among small forwards, behind other notably bad defenders like Harrison Barnes and Kyle Singler. I think that Andrew Wiggins has the capability to be a good defender, but lacks the team structure and probably the will to defend an elite level.

In that way, he is very unlike Kobe who came in the league able to defend at a good to great level. Like McGrady, Wiggins is incredibly athletic. He can do things on the court that not a lot of people can. Look at this:

In this video, Wiggins had a good stretch of defense on James Harden, who likes to use his own set of crossovers to break you down and shoot the ball, and makes the block. But he is so athletic that he not only makes the block but also has the athleticism to get up court, catch the ball, and finish the dunk over the Houston Rocket defender.

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That is what I mean by Wiggins having the potential to make defensive plays.

Offensively, Wiggins is much better than it was thought. Initially, Wiggins was thought to be a slasher who could get to the lane, but couldn’t make any jump shots. If you have seen any Minnesota Timberwolves games, you know that he is capable of making that jump shot. In the month of January, Wiggins averaged 19.8 points per game on 47 percent shooting.

He is averaging 15.6 points per game on 45 percent from the field for the season. His ability to get to the rim is uncanny, and soon his jump shot will catch up to his athleticism. The same was true of McGrady, who when playing for the Toronto Raptors in the beginning of his career began early at 18.

But at 20, he averaged 15.4 points, six rebounds and three assists per game, which is nearly identical to Wiggins. One of the bigger differences is that McGrady had a better team, with Vince Carter, Dell Curry, Doug Christie and Antonio Davis.

McGrady had more players to pass to. Wiggins doesn’t have to be a major facilitator because of Ricky Rubio, who takes the bulk of the creating in terms of assists.

For a rookie, Wiggins has not disappointed at all, particularly because he has been a much better shooter than we thought. Kevin Garnett, who has just joined the team, will make Wiggins even better after having played with great scorers Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wiggins was the Most Improved Player next season, averaging around 22 points per game.

He would be nearly around 18 or 19 points per game if it was not for his slow start this season. With Rubio, Garnett, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, the Timberwolves have a nice core to build around.

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