Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves to Monday night’s win against the Phoenix Suns.
With Ricky Rubio and Karl-Anthony Towns getting most of the attention lately, and rightfully so, is it possible we are forgetting how good last year’s Rookie of the Year is?
Wiggins finished with 32 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal on Monday night. He scored those 32 points on just 13 shots, which doesn’t really seem possible. Wiggins hit a career-high 17 free throws on 21 attempts.
Interim head coach Sam Mitchell joked before the game how dangerous Wiggins can be if he can start burying his 3-pointers consistently. Wiggins must have had his ear against the door, because he shot 3-for-5 from the 3-point line after going 0-for-5 in his previous three games.
In his second season, Wiggins has improved on pretty much everything. He’s scoring nearly four more points (20.7) from his rookie season, which is a jump that isn’t usually seen – especially when you consider that the Wolves were force-feeding him last season. This season he’s getting his shots in the flow of the offense, and it’s paid off as he’s getting to the line 7.2 times per game, up 1.5 from last season.
“He’s a freak athlete. He’s averaging over 20 a game,” Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “He’s only 20 years old. He’s got a high ceiling and he’s going to be great in this league for a very long time.”
He’s Minnesota’s main threat offensively, and that’s saying something with Towns and Zach LaVine also in the starting lineup. Wiggins has a quiet demeanor, but he’s anything but quiet on the court.
He’s eclipsed 20 points 43 times this season and 30 points eight times. His 20.7 points per game ranks tied for 19th in the league, in the same bracket as Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard.
The former Kansas wing is a matchup nightmare on both ends of the court. If he gets a smaller wing on him, it’s straight to a post-up. A spin move will likely come and even if the defender knows it’s coming, good luck stopping it, or not fouling.
On defense, he’s the team’s second-best perimeter defender behind Rubio. He can hold his own against guys like P.J. Tucker and is athletic enough to chase around guards like Brandon Knight if he gets switched onto them.
He’s still a work-in-progress from deep, shooting just 29 percent compared to 31 percent last season. But his shot looks fluid and it’s not broken. Eventually, he’ll become more consistent. Remember, the kid’s only 20. He might not hit the 40-percent mark, but if he can get to 33-35, the defense will have to respect that which will open up everything else.
“You see the experience start to kick in with him,” Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said. “The things he is capable of doing is definitely incredible. He’s going to continue to get better once his confidence continues to grow, he’s going to continue to get better.”
Wiggins is going to continue to improve. He’s 20. That’s what 20 year olds do. Through two seasons, Wiggins is on pace to score more than 3,000 points. That doesn’t just happen. With another offseason coming up, Wiggins will get a little stronger. He’ll get a little better at ball handling and a little better at shooting from deep.
All of those little improvements will have big payoffs.
They already have.
