Were … were we wrong about Minnesota Timberwolves wing Andrew Wiggins?

3. On-court contributions

One of the biggest problems that Minnesota Timberwolves fans have had with Andrew Wiggins in the past is his lack of production on the court. Through his first five seasons, Wiggins averaged 19.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Not horrible numbers by any means, but it was his efficiency that made people upset.

To get those numbers, Wiggins took an average of 16.3 shots per game, only making 7.2, for a shooting percentage of 44.0 percent. Of that number, Wiggins made 1.1 of his 3.2 attempted 3-point shots, for a 3-point percentage of 33.2 percent. Wiggins also couldn’t seem to convert when he was sent to the line, shooting just 73.5 percent.

However, Wiggins seems to have turned things around this season. He’s averaging 25.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals per game (those numbers sound familiar…). The best part is, he’s doing this on much better shooting than he’s had over the last five seasons.

This season, Wiggins is shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 32.9 percent from 3-point range (the 1-for-10 in his return against Utah didn’t help) and 541% from 2-point range. The only place that he’s really left himself open to criticism on is his 71.4 free throw percentage. Still, Wiggins has improved his efficiency on the court immensely.