Andrew Wiggins

Lore & Background

Wiggins grew up in Canada before attending his last two years of high school in the United States, where he was named a McDonald's All-American. At Kansas, he was named a second-team consensus All-American before becoming the second Canadian to be selected No. 1 overall in an NBA draft. After a preseason trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wiggins earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2014–15 season. After four-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota, he was traded to Golden State in 2020. In 2022, Wiggins won his first NBA championship and was selected for his first NBA All-Star game, and was named a Western Conference starter. He has also been a member of the Canadian national team.

In Their Own Story

The Target Center hums with a nervous energy as the clock winds down on a tight fourth-quarter contest. Wiggins sprints down the baseline, his eyes locked on the rim, the weight of the city's hope resting on his shoulders. He elevates, defying gravity for a thunderous dunk that silences the opposing crowd and ignites the home floor, a moment where the promise of 2014 finally feels like reality.

Reader's Guide

Wiggins was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in the nearby Vaughan portion of Thornhill, Ontario. He is the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and former Olympic track and field sprinter Marita Payne-Wiggins. He attended Vaughan Secondary School for his first two years of high school, then transferred to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia. He was rated the top high school prospect and reclassified to the class of 2013. He committed to Kansas and averaged 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his freshman year. He was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves before playing a game. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2015. He signed a five-year, $148 million contract extension with the Timberwolves in 2017. He was traded to Golden State in 2020 and won an NBA championship in 2022, also making his first All-Star appearance that year.

Did You Know?

• Wiggins was the second Canadian selected No. 1 overall in an NBA draft, after Anthony Bennett.
• He scored a career-high 47 points in a 2016 game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Wiggins won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP in 2015.
• He was named the 2013 Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year.