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Luka Doncic, Brandon Ingram headline NBA Most Improved Player Ladder

By Phil Watson

NBA Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic Minnesota Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBA Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic Minnesota Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NBA Minnesota Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins
NBA Minnesota Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

86. . . . Andrew Wiggins. 3. player

For a player who had averaged more than 20 points per game twice in his first five seasons, there were a lot of naysayers coming into this season regarding the track record and future of former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins.

Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 and traded before his rookie season to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Kevin Love trade, Wiggins has had a marked uptick this season after a pair of lackluster seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

In 17 games this season — Wiggins missed three games due to a death in the family and did not play Friday night at Oklahoma City because of a thumb injury — Wiggins is averaging 24.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 blocks in 34.8 minutes per game while shooting .450/.345/.716.

That’s up from 18.1 points, 4.8 boards, 2.5 dimes and 1.0 steals in an identical 34.8 minutes a night on shooting splits of .412/.339/.699. Wiggins is on a career-high pace in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks, while also taking a career-high 6.6 3-pointers per game.

Per 36-minutes is actually not much different as a barometer for Wiggins’ increased productivity because his minutes per game is identical from last season to this one. But he is averaging three more points per-36 (25.8) than he did in 2016-17, when he posted his best full season mark to date at 22.8 points.