Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Wiggins played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks prior to being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the second Canadian to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft. Wiggins earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2014–15 season while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In February of 2020, after spending his first five and a half seasons with Minnesota, Wiggins was traded to Golden State. He has also been a member of the Canadian national team.

Early life

Wiggins was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in the nearby Vaughan portion of Thornhill, Ontario. He is the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, an American, and former Olympic track and field sprinter Marita Payne-Wiggins, a Canadian who is originally from Barbados. His parents met as student athletes at Florida State University. He attended elementary school at Glen Shields Public School, and high school at Vaughan Secondary School, both in Vaughan.

Wiggins began playing organized basketball when he was nine, joining an under-10 team in Toronto. At the time, he was 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m). He dunked a basketball for the first time when he was 13, and a year later, he grew to 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and shattered a glass backboard after dunking on a rim at the Dufferin Clark Community Centre in Vaughan.

High school career

Wiggins attended Vaughan Secondary School in Vaughan for his first two years of high school. In his 2010–11 sophomore year, he led the school's AAAA basketball team to a 44–1 record, en route to winning the Ontario provincial championship. In the championship game, he scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, amid chants of "Over-rated!" from the crowd.

In 2011, he transferred to Huntington Prep School in Huntington, West Virginia. During his junior season, he averaged 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. As a senior, he averaged 23.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.5 assists per game.

Wiggins had been rated as the top prospect for 2014, but announced in October 2012 that he would officially reclassify into his original high school class of 2013, and was immediately placed ahead of the previous number one prospect, Jabari Parker, by ESPN.

On February 7, 2013, after an article in Sports Illustrated criticized Canadian basketball and Wiggins' work ethic, he responded later that day, scoring 57 points in a 111–59 win over Marietta College.

Wiggins was named the 2013 Naismith Prep Player of the Year on February 25. He was named the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year on March 28 as the nation's top high school player. He was the first Canadian player to be so named. In May 2013, he was named Mr. Basketball USA. He was ranked number one high school basketball player by SLAM magazine.

In April 2013, Wiggins played in the Jordan Brand Classic All-American game in Brooklyn. He scored 19 points and tied Julius Randle for lead scorer for the East team.

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Andrew Wiggins SF	Vaughan, Ontario	Vaughan Secondary / Huntington Prep	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 14, 2013
	Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 (SF); 1 (national); 2 (school)   Rivals: 1 (SF); 1 (national)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2013 Kansas Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017. "2013 Kansas College Basketball Team Recruiting Prospects". Scout.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017. "Kansas Jayhawks 2013 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 28, 2017. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

College career

Wiggins committed to Kansas on May 14, 2013. Before the announcement, he had narrowed his choices to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina. Wiggins joined the Kansas team on June 19, 2013.

On January 13, 2014, Wiggins scored 17 points and collected 19 rebounds in a 77–70 victory over Iowa State, becoming only the second freshman in the last 15 years (along with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) to amass those numbers in a win against a ranked opponent.

Wiggins averaged 17.1 points per game (ppg), 5.9 rebounds per game (rpg), and made 34.1% of his three-pointers in his freshman year at Kansas. On January 22, 2014, Wiggins was named a Top 25 Finalist for the John R. Wooden Men's Player of the Year award by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. On February 28, he was named one of the 10 semi-finalists for Naismith College Player of the Year.

On March 8, 2014, Wiggins scored 41 points against West Virginia, the most for a Big 12 Conference freshman since Michael Beasley scored 44 points against Baylor in 2008.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2014–2020)

2014–15 season

Wiggins declared for the 2014 NBA draft on March 31, 2014. He was selected first overall in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 26, 2014, becoming just the second Canadian ever picked number one in the draft, after Anthony Bennett, who had been selected first overall one year prior in the 2013 NBA draft, also by Cleveland. On August 23, a three-team trade was completed involving the Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, Wiggins and Bennett were traded to the Wolves, along with Thaddeus Young, then of the Sixers. The Cavaliers received Kevin Love from Minnesota, while the Sixers received Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and a 2015 first-round draft pick from Cleveland. Wiggins became just the second player since the ABA–NBA merger to be drafted as the number one pick, only to be traded afterwards without playing a single game for the team he was originally selected for; Chris Webber was the first following the 1993 draft.

In his NBA debut on October 29, 2014, Wiggins scored six points in a 105–101 season-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He went on to earn the Western Conference Rookie of the Month honours for the first two months of the season. On January 31, he scored 33 points in a loss to the Cavaliers. On February 13, Wiggins won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP after scoring 22 points for Team World in a 121–112 win over Team USA. On April 30, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2014–15 season.

2015–16 season

On November 7, 2015, Wiggins scored a game-high 31 points in a 102–93 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. Two days later, he tied his career high with 33 points in a 117–107 win over the Atlanta Hawks, thus recording consecutive 30-point games for the first time in his career. On December 18, he recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 99–95 win over the Sacramento Kings, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Tobias Harris as the only players 20 or younger to record at least 30 points, 10 boards and five assists in a game since 2000. On January 8, 2016, he scored a then career-high 35 points in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

2016–17 season

On November 8, 2016, Wiggins scored a career-high 36 points and hit a career-best six three-pointers in a 119–110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Five days later, he set a new career high with 47 points in a 125–99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first Canadian-born player to score 40-plus points in an NBA game. On February 14, he had a 41-point effort in a 116–108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The following day, he scored 40 points in a 112–99 win over the Denver Nuggets, becoming just the second Minnesota player to record back-to-back 40-point games. On February 24, he scored 27 points in a 97–84 win over the Dallas Mavericks, topping 20 points for the 16th straight game, tying a franchise record.

2017–18 season

On October 11, 2017, Wiggins signed a five-year, $148 million contract extension with the Timberwolves. On October 22, he scored 27 points and hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Timberwolves to a 115–113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. On January 20, 2018, he scored 22 of his season-high 29 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 115–109 win over the Toronto Raptors. Two days later, he set a new season high with 40 points in a 126–118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. On February 7, 2018, in a 140–138 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wiggins reached 6,000 career points. At 22 years, 349 days, he became the sixth-youngest player to reach the plateau. By the end of the season, Wiggins finished with a scoring average of 17.7 PPG, his lowest since his rookie year.

2018–19 season

On October 24, 2018, Wiggins was inactive for only the second time in his career, sitting out the Timberwolves' loss to the Toronto Raptors because of a bruised right quadriceps. The last time Wiggins was inactive was November 10, 2015, when he sat out a loss to the Charlotte Hornets because of a sore right knee. Wiggins returned to action on October 31 against the Utah Jazz after missing three games. He struggled early in the season, culminating in an 0-for-12 shooting night on November 24 against the Chicago Bulls. It was the first time in his career he finished a game scoreless. On December 23, he scored 30 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining to help the Timberwolves defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114–112. He topped that total with 31 points on January 6 against Boston Celtics. On January 6, he scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 108–86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Two days later, he had a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds in a 119–117 win over the Thunder. On January 18 against the San Antonio Spurs, Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell (7,161) for second place on the franchise's career scoring list. On January 27, he scored a game-high 35 points in a 125–111 loss to the Jazz.

2019–20 season

On January 18, 2020, Wiggins achieved his first career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.

Golden State Warriors (2020–present)

On February 6, 2020, Wiggins and two draft picks were traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jacob Evans, D'Angelo Russell and Omari Spellman. Wiggins scored 24 points and had five steals in his debut for the Warriors during a 125–120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

National team career

Wiggins participated in the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and 2012 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, helping the Canadian junior national team win a bronze medal in each tournament. During the 2010 tournament, Wiggins was a teammate of Anthony Bennett, the number one overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and his former teammate on the Timberwolves. In the 2012 tournament, he led the team in scoring with 15.2 ppg, along with 7.6 rpg.

On August 20, 2015, Wiggins was named to the Canadian national team roster for the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Wiggins helped Canada win the bronze medal; he led the team in scoring, with 15.1 points per game, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Career statistics

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	Minnesota	82	82	36.2	.437	.310	.760	4.6	2.1	1.0	.6	16.9
2015–16	Minnesota	81	81	35.1	.459	.300	.761	3.6	2.0	1.0	.6	20.7
2016–17	Minnesota	82	82	37.2	.452	.356	.760	4.0	2.3	1.0	.4	23.6
2017–18	Minnesota	82	82	36.3	.438	.331	.643	4.4	2.0	1.1	.6	17.7
2018–19	Minnesota	73	73	34.8	.412	.339	.699	4.8	2.5	1.0	.7	18.1
2019–20	Minnesota	42	42	34.6	.444	.331	.720	5.2	3.7	.7	.9	22.4
	Golden State	12	12	33.6	.457	.339	.672	4.6	3.6	1.3	1.4	19.4
2020–21	Golden State	71	71	33.3	.477	.380	.714	4.9	2.4	.9	1.0	18.6
Career		525	525	35.4	.446	.341	.731	4.4	2.3	1.0	.7	19.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018	Minnesota	5	5	32.8	.441	.333	.600	5.2	2.0	.4	.4	15.8
Career		5	5	32.8	.441	.333	.600	5.2	2.0	.4	.4	15.8

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Kansas	35	35	32.8	.448	.341	.775	5.9	1.5	1.2	1.0	17.1

Personal life

Wiggins and his girlfriend, Mychal, have two children.

Wiggins has two older brothers. His middle brother, Nick, played college basketball at Vincennes University, Wabash Valley College, and Wichita State University, and his oldest brother, Mitchell Jr., played at Hillsborough Community College and Southeastern University. He also has three sisters: Stephanie, Angelica, and Taya.