It seems surreal now, but it’s been nearly 10 years since Andrew Wiggins’ high school mixtape caught the imagination of millions of NBA fans.
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Wiggins was hailed as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James before he’d played even a minute in college. That hype fell considerably during his freshman year, which was a bit underwhelming for the Kansas swingman.
Overall, however, he was the safest bet to make a good NBA career given his raw athleticism. He was selected no. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers and packaged to the Timberwolves in a deal for Kevin Love.
While Wiggins was nowhere near success during his time in Minnesota, he had a sizeable impact. Wolves fans were treated to some jaw-dropping highlight reel dunks from the 6’8″ forward. Wiggins also rarely missed a game there – just 1 in his first 4 seasons.
He’s turned his career around through 3 seasons on the Golden State Warriors. Playing second-fiddle to a generational offensive player in Stephen Curry has opened up his offensive repertoire.
Wiggins is far more efficient now on the offensive end, expanding his range to the 3-point line. He’s also a much-improved defender now, mainly because of the team culture around him.
Andrew Wiggins picked J Cole for an Adidas collab because Drake was signed to Jordan Brand
Wiggins was tipped by a few outlets to overshadow LeBron’s 7-year rookie deal with Nike before making the NBA. A figure of $180 million for 10 years was being floated around by rumor-mongers.
The Canadian did eventually sign with The Three Stripes – however, he did so for a much lower amount. The contract he had was for 5 years, worth a minimum of $2 million annually.
At one point, Wiggins’ star was on the ascent well enough for the shoe brand to consider giving his own sneaker line. The then-21-year-old revealed that his dream hip-hop star for a collab similar to Reebok’s Allen Iverson and Jadakiss commercials was with J Cole:
“I’d say Drake but Drake’s with Jordan, so I’d say…J. Cole. I like him a lot as a rapper. I like Kendrick a lot, too. It just kinda fits my style.”
When will Wiggins join the Warriors?
The 28-year-old 2022 NBA All-Star hasn’t appeared for the Warriors since February 13th against the Wizards. People have speculated about his absence for personal reasons, linking it to a possible extra-marital affair.
However, his girlfriend Mychal Johnson has categorically rubbished those rumors. Meanwhile, the Canadian was said to have returned to the Bay Area in time to gel with his team for the playoffs.
Wiggins will likely see the court before the Warriors’ final regular season game.
