Kid Canada: The Story of Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins, a sophomore player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was born and raised in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Wiggins caught the attention of Americans and Canadians alike at an early age while playing high school basketball at Vaughan Secondary School, located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality directly north of Toronto. He was no stranger to the game, as he is the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, while his mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins, is a former Olympic track and field sprinter.

The story of Andrew Wiggins is already a spectacular one even this early in his NBA career. He has been the most touted prospect to come from the Great White North since 2-time MVP Steve Nash. After catching the attention of many while playing for Vaughan Secondary School, Wiggins transferred to Huntington Prep in Virginia to play for his junior and senior year. After completing high school, he would go to play for Kansas for one year as part of his collegiate career.

During his season in Kansas, many Raptors fans and Canadians were hoping the Toronto Raptors would put themselves in a position to have a high draft pick to be able to draft their hometown hero (akin to Derrick Rose and Chicago). However, the dominoes fell differently for both the Raptors and Wiggins. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay in mid-December of 2013 and went on a run and secured a playoff spot, while Wiggins would be exposed to the business side of the NBA from day 1.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had secured the 1^st pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, their third 1^st overall pick in four years. They drafted Anthony Bennett with their 1^st pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, making Bennett the first Canadian-born player to be drafted 1^st overall. The Cavaliers would go ahead and draft Wiggins as 1^st overall, making him the second Canadian player to have this honour. However, Wiggins would never play a game as a Cavalier.

Andrew Wiggins Was Selected First Overall In The 2014 NBA Draft By The Cleveland Cavaliers//via Getty Images-Mike Stobe

The 2014 NBA offseason was all about the Cavaliers, as they would go from lottery team to championship contenders with the return of LeBron James. The Cavaliers, with James’ interest, were actively looking to acquire Kevin Love, and would trade both Wiggins and Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Love, with a lot of “will they won’t they” discussions occurring before the trade was completed. Wiggins was exposed to the business side of the NBA before even playing a game, something that could really affect a young player mentally. Luckily, the trade worked out well for him. Despite the fact that he did not get a chance to play on a winning team with the Cavs, he was given the platform to be the primary option on a young team full of promising prospects.

Wiggins had a successful rookie campaign, where we won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 16.9PTS 4.6REB and 2.1AST per game and played all 82 games of his rookie season. Future hall-of-famer Kevin Garnett, who spent 12 seasons with the Timberwolves, was reacquired by Minnesota and now serves as a great mentor for a young Wiggins. Wiggins’ career is definitely promising, many Canadians and Raptor fans hope that down the road Wiggins will consider coming back home and don the Raptor uniform. That obviously remains to be unseen, but one thing for sure is that Wiggins will definitely leave his imprint in the NBA when it’s all said and done.