Winning a championship seemed far out of reach for Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota. The Timberwolves made just one brief playoff appearance during his five and a half seasons with the team and he was widely viewed as a disappointment after being the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft.
Wiggins’ fortunes changed with a trade to Golden State in 2020, and the Canadian native was able to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy with him this weekend to show participants at youth basketball camps in his hometown, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of people had counted me out,” Wiggins said, “but to be back and … winning a championship? All the sacrifices, all the ups and downs, all the stuff was worth it. It makes the story that much better.”
Wiggins played an important role in helping the Warriors win that trophy, particularly in the NBA Finals against the Celtics. He was Golden State’s second-leading scorer in the six-game series at 18.3 PPG and was the team’s leading rebounder at 8.8 RPG.
Although he’s finally getting recognition around the league, Wiggins said he never doubted his abilities.
“When I step on the court, I’ve always been confident in what I can do,” he said. “When I was in Minnesota, I put up numbers. But people said, ‘He put up numbers on a bad team.’ So, I go to Golden State and I’m not scoring as much, but I’m doing a lot at a more efficient rate, so the whole world gets to see.”
Wiggins credits a strong support group with helping him get through the tough times, starting with his parents, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and ex-Olympic track star Marita Payne. He also has a large fanbase in the Vaughan and Mississauga area, especially after returning home as a champion.
“It’s been a different type of summer, but the best summer of my life,” Wiggins said. “It’s been amazing coming down here and feeling all this love and positivity. It’s been great. Just being able to bring the trophy back home to where it all started for me … where all my friends and family are that helped me get to the place where I’m at now.”
Many superstars win nothing at age 27
Lillard
Beal
MVP Harden
MVP Westbrook
Wiggins mother track star
Payton mother was also track star?
Otto Porter father Wilt Chamberloin
Klay father
Curry father
Wiggins father
I’m gonna need to see real proof that the Stilt was Ottos gramps….not some speculation.
Always believed in you Wiggy. You make Canada proud my man!
Dude it’s Wilt,.he just may be your daddy.
Porter’s father isn’t Chamberlin. That is silly.
consider the source, sfg……
He’s not being serious. He’s making a joke because they’re practically twins.
Been a huge fan of this kid since he was literally 15yo. 1st saw him playing alongside Anthony Bennett (was a huge fan of his too) in a FIBA Americas tourney over a decade ago. Extremely happy for the boy. Crazy that so many folks were calling him a bust even after he scored more pts in league history by anyone before the age of 22 than anybody except Bron, Melo & KD. He still has a lot of story left to tell too. Especially in the $ making department. If he continues to play like he has the past few seasons he’s gonna get a 2nd straight max contract from somebody. Him or KMiddleton would be perfect for the Thunder fr
Always believed in you Wiggy.
You make Canada proud my man!
Gonna need to see some real proof that The Stilt was Ottos gramps…..speculation don’t cut it.
Darth, the Chamberlain reference is meant as a tongue-in-cheek comment. A joke. Because there’s a resemblance to Wilt. Theres no speculation. Btw, Google will bare this out.
No they don’t look the same. Lots of guys have mustaches. Doesn’t mean they are related.
SF, are you responding to my post or Darths?
Bennett …. that says who you see.
I love Wiggins as a player and a person, but nobody is paying him 40+ million a year. Besides the Warriors, what playoff team would sign him for that amount?
OKC Thunder. He’d be the perfect vet to catapult them into contender mode. He fits their team absolutely perfectly… why would it have to be a contender?
I can remember this board most hating on Wiggins. Even Warrior fans were hating on him. Up until the beginning of this yr. They were still talking. It’s unfortunate most here come to trash players. Instead of just keeping quiet.
Wiggins accepted his fate and made the best of it. He became a better all around player. And was impactful in the Warriors run. Yet most were ready to give up on a 24 yr old player. Wiggins definitely brought out all the geniuses on this board.
I’ll be curious to see what Warriors do with him. He’s do a new contract. I just don’t see Warriors keeping him…….
Come to NY Andrew. You can be what you wanna be here. He can go back to being a scorer in NY.
Even now after being the 2nd most important player during the Warriors championship run it seems Warriors fans only begrudgingly give props.
I like Wiggins. And respect what he’s done in San Francisco. He’s a better player all around. Plus a better team player. And I still believe he can put up 22-24 a game. But I just can’t give him max money. I truly wonder if he wants a max contract. He might take less to stay a Warrior. But Warriors have Dre contract coming up. Money has to be an issue for that franchise now.
Draymond and Thompson coming up. I want to keep the band together. Draymond deserves pay but I’m worried that he sacrificed numbers the first time around I believe 5 for 85 mill. Looking back that was a bargain. Our best bet is Klay takes into consideration he got max money to sit (and rehab his ass off) but they can’t all get paid and stay together. It’s really unheard of when stars stay together this long. Name another group of three that have 11 years together?
@randy
bird, parish, mchale
duncan, parker, ginobli
Hater….
He 100% was NOT “the 2nd most important player during the Warriors championship run” he’s a gravity merchant who wouldnt be anywhere without Steph Curry.
Curry, Thompson, Green, GP2 all cleared Wiggins, who played well at times, but also turns invisible for full quarters as GSW lose the game.
Look, this GSW team was STACKED. There were 14 players who were all important at times, including Wiggins. But make no mistake, Wiggins is a Curry gravity merchant who WILL be exposed the second he leaves Curry. He was supposed to be the next MJ, but will always be MID-J, which is still a decent NBA player, but not one GSW needs long term.
Kevon Looney is 100x more important to GSW than Wiggins, and that’s pure facts.
I think Wiggins is the rare type that will take less to win more. In this me first world of sports the player with the team based attitude is gonna get his through sponsors and the fact he’s from Canada means he’ll get sponsors from his home area to represent Canadian success in an American sport. I really hope he’s able to find a sweet spot. Max offers might come after that performance last year. But his fit and chance to win will never be better than GSW
You are 100000% wrong. Wiggins is NOT a winner. He absolutely would love to be the best, highest paid player on a last place team as he puts up 26 PPG. That’s the real Andrew Wiggins, the one we saw win was 100% due to Curry being on the floor and drawing Wiggins defender to him, as Wiggins was left open for an easy bucket. That does not happen on any other team for him.
He takes every chance to say he wishes he never got vaccinated, which reeks of me-first, not a team player.