Is Andrew Wiggins Really That Bad?

[Raps in 4]

He is only viewed as so bad because he makes far far to much money. If he was a 10 to 15 mill a year guy the hate wouldnt be so strong

He would still be grossly overpaid.

[Klomp]

I know people don't want to admit it, but he is improving with his shot selection. His percentage of shots being 3s has improved every season and his percentage of long 2s has been declining the last two years.

He also has taken a lot less lay ups and drawing less fouls though, so I can't really say his shot selections are getting better.

career low in % of shots from 0-3 feet (0.229 and 0.264), both lower than his rookie year (0.307)
He is dunking a lot less (58 and 39 successful dunks), significantly lower than his rookie year (79)
Also career lows in FT attempt per 100 (5.3 and 5.6), down from his rookie year (8)
Career low in TS% (0.505 and 0.493), lower than his rookie year (0.517)

Pretty sharp improvement from last year to this year

[wutevahung]

I know people don't want to admit it, but he is improving with his shot selection. His percentage of shots being 3s has improved every season and his percentage of long 2s has been declining the last two years.

He also has taken a lot less lay ups and drawing less fouls though, so I can't really say his shot selections are getting better.

career low in % of shots from 0-3 feet (0.229 and 0.264), both lower than his rookie year (0.307)
He is dunking a lot less (58 and 39 successful dunks), significantly lower than his rookie year (79)
Also career lows in FT attempt per 100 (5.3 and 5.6), down from his rookie year (8)
Career low in TS% (0.505 and 0.493), lower than his rookie year (0.517)

Pretty sharp improvement from last year to this year

his 2nd year and 3rd year are 0.321 and 0.291. Sharp improvement, but still lower than his career average, and only because his 3rd to 4th year dropped from 0.291 to 0.229.

[Klomp]

He also has taken a lot less lay ups and drawing less fouls though, so I can't really say his shot selections are getting better.

career low in % of shots from 0-3 feet (0.229 and 0.264), both lower than his rookie year (0.307)
He is dunking a lot less (58 and 39 successful dunks), significantly lower than his rookie year (79)
Also career lows in FT attempt per 100 (5.3 and 5.6), down from his rookie year (8)
Career low in TS% (0.505 and 0.493), lower than his rookie year (0.517)

Pretty sharp improvement from last year to this year

his 2nd year and 3rd year are 0.321 and 0.291. Sharp improvement, but still lower than his career average, and only because his 3rd to 4th year dropped from 0.291 to 0.229.

The Jimmy Butler effect

[dho4ever]

For a guy whose athleticism made him comparable to Lebron James, I haven't seen him make a lot of wow plays. Does anyone have a highlight, just to see his potential?

Don't really watch minnesota, but it seems like everytime I watch him I see him bricking a lot of midrange 2s.

[Soulcatcher33]

He also has taken a lot less lay ups and drawing less fouls though, so I can't really say his shot selections are getting better.

career low in % of shots from 0-3 feet (0.229 and 0.264), both lower than his rookie year (0.307)
He is dunking a lot less (58 and 39 successful dunks), significantly lower than his rookie year (79)
Also career lows in FT attempt per 100 (5.3 and 5.6), down from his rookie year (8)
Career low in TS% (0.505 and 0.493), lower than his rookie year (0.517)

Pretty sharp improvement from last year to this year

his 2nd year and 3rd year are 0.321 and 0.291. Sharp improvement, but still lower than his career average, and only because his 3rd to 4th year dropped from 0.291 to 0.229.

You actually have to be able to get to the rim to shoot at the rim. Unless it's in the open court Wiggins is rarely going to get to the rim as he's not a good ball handler with any kind of dribble moves to get there. There's also the fact that he's a horrible off the ball player. He doesn't make any cuts to the rim or anything.

[iggymcfrack]

He is only viewed as so bad because he makes far far to much money. If he was a 10 to 15 mill a year guy the hate wouldnt be so strong

He would still be grossly overpaid.

Honestly, I think he’s be overpaid at $4MM. He’s that bad. Would anyone in their right mind rather have him than Cousins?

[dc]

For a guy whose athleticism made him comparable to Lebron James, I haven't seen him make a lot of wow plays. Does anyone have a highlight, just to see his potential?

Don't really watch minnesota, but it seems like everytime I watch him I see him bricking a lot of midrange 2s.

As it's been mentioned before, Wiggins is a straight line athlete. He'll look good in drills, workouts and even a few highlights where he beats 1 guy for a dunk, but that's about it.

Put 2-3 guys in front of him on his way to the basket and all of a sudden he looks less athletic. He's a stiff/straight line athlete. He can't improvise. He's a glorified Harrison Barnes, and he might not even be better than Barnes.

[delux55]

He is only viewed as so bad because he makes far far to much money. If he was a 10 to 15 mill a year guy the hate wouldnt be so strong

He would still be grossly overpaid.

Honestly, I think he’s be overpaid at $4MM. He’s that bad. Would anyone in their right mind rather have him than Cousins?

That's just nonsense. Get real. The haters around here lack common sense. Every team in the league would line up to get Wiggins at 4 mill

[Klomp]

For a guy whose athleticism made him comparable to Lebron James, I haven't seen him make a lot of wow plays. Does anyone have a highlight, just to see his potential?

Don't really watch minnesota, but it seems like everytime I watch him I see him bricking a lot of midrange 2s.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

From earlier in his career:

Watch on YouTube

[Quentin]

His handles are severely over-rated. And that's considering his handles are viewed as pretty bad. He literally loses the ball anytime he dribbles in the lane. Wolves handcuffed themselves with that contract.

[Klomp]

He literally loses the ball anytime he dribbles in the lane.

That's literally false.

[Alatan]

This describes Wiggins in more ways than one.

[JN61]

I hate to say this since I hyped him up so much before the draft, but yes he is. I've followed him since high school, and he's so frustrating to watch because I've seen so many instances throughout the years that suggested he'll be a star, but he doesn't bother putting in the effort. When he's focused and locked in he can be a superstar stopper.

Watch on YouTube

But more often than not he just doesn't care and will completely cost his team on defense all because he's not paying attention. The above video is the rare times where he will and you can see the potential brimming off of him.

Most of those clips are bad defense. He opens up his stance all the time and allows the drive to all directions which is also known as not following the defensive scheme, and can't stay ahead on the screen or recover after but tries to goose pick from behind which doesn't affect shot.

[Mulhollanddrive]

41% FG at -9 points below league offensive efficiency.

Does he have to go into the 30s to be bad?

[UcanUwill]

Thibodeau stunted his growth along with the trade for Jimmy Butler. Wiggins averaged 23 points then all of a sudden a year later he goes down to 17. Maybe Wiggins actually does better this year with new coach. He showed some flashes and signs late last year.

The less he scores the better, since he shooting at absolute terrible efficiency. He is a negative player, I disagree with notion that if he was paid less he would get no hate, he would still be terrible player.

[wutevahung]

Thibodeau stunted his growth along with the trade for Jimmy Butler. Wiggins averaged 23 points then all of a sudden a year later he goes down to 17. Maybe Wiggins actually does better this year with new coach. He showed some flashes and signs late last year.

The less he scores the better, since he shooting at absolute terrible efficiency. He is a negative player, I disagree with notion that if he was paid less he would get no hate, he would still be terrible player.

No man
Unless you think you know better than coaches who get lapis millions than you are wrong

[Kabookalu]

I hate to say this since I hyped him up so much before the draft, but yes he is. I've followed him since high school, and he's so frustrating to watch because I've seen so many instances throughout the years that suggested he'll be a star, but he doesn't bother putting in the effort. When he's focused and locked in he can be a superstar stopper.

Watch on YouTube

But more often than not he just doesn't care and will completely cost his team on defense all because he's not paying attention. The above video is the rare times where he will and you can see the potential brimming off of him.

Most of those clips are bad defense. He opens up his stance all the time and allows the drive to all directions which is also known as not following the defensive scheme, and can't stay ahead on the screen or recover after but tries to goose pick from behind which doesn't affect shot.

Not really, no. It's not required to force the scorer to one side if they can challenge the shot straight up, and Wiggins is a world class athlete that he can do that if he tries.

[The_Hater]

What's up with people's hate on this guy? What's he so bad at? His FG% isn't atrocious although I haven't seem him play a whole lot.

Why don’t you list all the things he does well for us? And I’m hopeful the list goes beyond ‘FG% isn’t atrocious’

[taikibansei]

Thibodeau stunted his growth along with the trade for Jimmy Butler. Wiggins averaged 23 points then all of a sudden a year later he goes down to 17. Maybe Wiggins actually does better this year with new coach. He showed some flashes and signs late last year.

The less he scores the better, since he shooting at absolute terrible efficiency. He is a negative player, I disagree with notion that if he was paid less he would get no hate, he would still be terrible player.

No man
Unless you think you know better than coaches who get lapis millions than you are wrong

This argument always cracks me up. The Timberwolves are on their fourth coach during Wiggins 5-year career, so playing Wiggins that much certainly has not increased job security. In 3 1/2 seasons of games without Butler, Wiggins has "led" the Twolves to a .375 W-L record, and while leading the team in minutes, and he has yet to lead "his" team in win shares even once (i.e., not even the season before KAT got there). Accordingly, playing Wiggins does not seem to lead to victories either.

Why is Wiggins played so much? I would say Taylor, who has a history of meddling (e.g., the Love contract fiasco, the LaVine trade and Wiggins max) with generally adverse (for the team) results. Regardless, there is no reason for other teams to mirror the Twolves bad decisions.