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16. Andrew Wiggins

16. Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins is one of the toughest players to rank on any of our Top-50 lists, as his five years and change saw high points, but low advanced metrics.

The Canadian was drafted 1st Overall in 2014, and he played 400 Games for the T-Wolves, which as of this writing is fifth in franchise history.  The Small Forward won the Rookie of the Year in a season where he averaged 16.9 Points per Game.  Wiggins exceeded the 20 PPG mark in the next two seasons but regressed to 17.7 and 18.1 Points per Game in his fourth and fifth year.  In the five years, he has been a pro (all with Minnesota) he averaged 19.4 Points every game he suited up, which is a high number.

So why is he ranked so low?

Wiggins has sub-par numbers in Rebounds and Assists, and while he scores a lot, his shooting efficiency is well below his output.  He plays a lot of minutes (he would lead the NBA in Minutes Played in 2016/17), so he is on the court often so we have a considerable sample size to draw from.  His advanced numbers have been poor, as his career Minnesota PER is less than average (14.7) and he never had a VORP that have a positive integer.  How can we rank anyone in the top ten who has a VORP of zero,

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Small Forward
  • Acquired: Selected in the 1st Round, 1st Overall in the NBA Draft 6/26/14.
  • Departed: Traded to the Golden State Warriors with a 2021 1st and 2nd Round Pick for Jacob Evans, D'Angelo Russell, and Omari Spellman 2/6/20
  • Games Played: 442
  • Per Game Averages: 35.8 MP
    .476 eFG%
    .734 FT%
    19.7 PTS
    4.3 RB
    2.3 AST
    1.0 STL
    0.6 BLK

    5 Playoff Games
    32.8 MP
    .493 eFG%
    .600 FT%
    15.8 PTS
    5.2 RB
    2.0 AST
    0.4 STL
    0.4 BLK
  • Advanced Stats: 14.7 PER
    .521 TS%
    0.0 VORP
    14.4 WS

    5 Playoff Games
    11.7 PER
    .514 TS%
    0.0 VORP
    14.4 WS
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    Rookie of the Year (2014)
    First Team All-Rookie (2014)
    Most Minutes Played (2016-17)

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