This is deeper, but I actually think analytics boom prevented Andrew Wiggins from being a multi time All-Star and bonafide superstar who put up 27/7/5. Look at these shots. His game was the prototype SF (Melo/PG/LBJ/Rudy) at that time, but the game switched very abruptly before he could emerge.... Middy, elbow, slasher, 12 footers, long 2's, post fades...all iso half court buckets etc. opening up the rest of their attack. They love to say silly things like "the analytics actually say Shai or Booker are good mid-range shooters" 🤷🏽‍♂️ But how is a young player coming into a league that openly discourages that shot even prove they are elite in that category? They'd have to be rebels.show more

Wiggins shot sub 40% from mid range every one of his first 6 years in the league on about 8 attempts per 75 each of those years (a lot)

This actually proves my point. The guy in his most pivotal years, which determined the trajectory of his career (really good run) was trying to play a brand of basketball that the stat boys were eliminating from the sport and never got to actually hone and expand it. He got put in awkward 3&D role the rest of his career as opposed to a go to guy who's style a team believed in and had patience with. Minnesota sucked that time. It wasn't because of him.

It would prove your point if he made the shots but he never did in 6 years of opportunity. you think Minnesota should’ve given him a decade to get up as many iso middys as he wanted in case he maybe started making them? NBA is about competing and winning, that’s neither

If that’s what you want out of basketball, the NBA is not for you

Gonna disagree with this. Was a terrible mid range shooter in MN, and had an overall bad pull up game. Iso efficiency also tanked after sophomore year. Much much different numbers than book or SGA

Keep in mind this guy was the second best player on a championship team and an All-Star. Don't know if the "no heart" narrative is true. He was definitely talented enough as a SF to be a go to wing like prime PG/Kawhi/Melo/KD/Rudy/Mac etc. same arsenal just would have honed it more. But the game got away from this player. This is also the years Melo was exiled from the league due to "the data". Analytics doesn't promote his arsenal unless you broken the mold and became the franchise guy on a winning team.

u can show nice clips but he shot 41% from floater range, 36% on short middies and 34% on long middies during his 6yrs in minnesota. over half his shots in minnesota were non-rim 2s. if he was as good as u say he would’ve hit them at a league avg rate by age 24

For those of saying heart - sure. Can we address the fact that his arsenal coming in was Middy, elbow, slasher, 12 footers, long 2's, post fades...all iso half court buckets etc. opening up the rest of his attack? And how that got abolished from the game unless you was already an established megastar prior to 2016.

Yeah and how did that work out?

😂😂😂 there’s too much nuance in this convo for Twitter . Like Rudy was not an elite SF, neither was Wiggins … that being said yeah Wiggins probably coulda averaged 25/26 on a losing Minny team and I do agree with the premise . Analytics has phased this out unless you break the mold on a winner within 3-4 years . Like real humans think Christian Braun is better at basketball than Cam Thomas … drunk . But that doesn’t mean Cam is about to lead your team to the playoffs either .

He just ain’t have the same bag as the rest of the players u listed. He was always a bad jump shooter

Wiggins averages 34 minutes a game on 15 shit attempts. Has scored over 15k points. Is a champion that averages 18-5-2. But things like this exist too. Wiggins struggles to create space at times & doesn’t shoot the best quality of shots.

Analytics don’t play defense. Dude has been in the league for 10+ years; he became who he is. Scoring has never been an issue for him. In your clip, you see Kobe. Kobe could score, too. What’s the difference? Lots of players score. All Stars affect the game in multiple ways. Every night. FOH with this soft excuse shit.

Actually, in reality analytics saved Wiggins. Wiggins was an all-time great talent, but the Wolves, at a time when they had absolutely no real plan for how to develop him, genuinely lowered his ceiling through bad shot selection, bad roster construction around him and constantly changing his role. At 21 years old, he was averaging 24 points per game in an era when averaging 24 wasn't nearly as easy as it is today. Analytics actually saved his career. From 2019 onward, after three disastrous seasons, he completely changed his shot diet. He averaged around 22 points per game on much better efficiency, and that's what made the Warriors want him. Sure, he ultimately became the third or fourth option, but after his final season alongside Butler, things could have gone completely off the rails. Instead, he became the second-best player on a championship team. His 26-point, 13-rebound performance against Tatum while erasing him on the other end remains the ultimate "this is what Andrew Wiggins would've looked like if he had been drafted by a serious franchise" game. If not for the analytics, Wiggins could have been a bench player after the disastrous 2017-18 season. So all in all, Timberwolves destroyed his potential. Analytics got him back on track. Warriors made him one of the best 3rd-4th options we have seen and we just see time to time (championship run, random posters, random 40-point games) his once unlimited potential.

Wiggins never rebounded. Never boxed out. He was not a good creator. His FT% is abysmal. He never maximized his physical abilities in being a defender. As a primary guy, he would have put up empty Kiki Vandeweghe numbers

one of the worst shooters itl before leaving minny

i was always very underwhelmed with his body control. short strides also made him play smaller.

This was right below your post on my feed lol

No

Trust me he still takes those types of shots lmao

As talented as Wiggins is, he simply doesn't have the mentality to strive as a 1st option on a team. His role with the Dubs in 2022 is the best role for him considering this talent and mindset.

You’re gonna enjoy watching Acuff play then. Middy game elite and crazy tough off the bounce. Then has the ability to knock down 35’ like it’s nothing. Very difficult to defend for an entire game.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about

Trust me, he took plenty of middies early in his career and was not discouraged of doing so by flip Saunders or thibs lol

Shai is literally a super star doing all the same exact stuff you listed

you know what the difference is and you said it “how is he supposed to prove it”? how did shai and book prove it? they go and play how THEY want to play, thats what a superstar does. takes the initiative to dominate how they want to. Wiggins has never said let me be him n do it

I do think timing matters more than people realize. Wiggins entered the league during a period when the definition of an "efficient" shot was changing almost overnight. Players who came in a few years earlier had more freedom to explore that style of scoring before the league shifted. That said, becoming a superstar is about more than shot selection. It's also about consistency, playmaking, and finding ways to adapt as the game evolves.

I agree he was two not a three but I used to say he had Kobe potential

Not a good ball handler and an inconsistent shooter with a below average motor given his athleticism. Wiggins will probably play over 15 seasons in the league and has had a good career but he never lived up to his potential and it wasn’t because of analytics.

That shot right inside the 3 pt line...they'd sit him for the rest of the game if he did that today and fine him lol...

His scoring had no impact. He was a black hole. That is the issue.

Wiggins never was gonna avg 7 rebs or 5 assists stop it

I would argue he still became the second best player on a championship team

Yeah but the switch made him a champion and prevented him from flaming out imo, he would’ve been treated like how Monta was if he never landed with a contender and refined his game so he can last another 7 seasons. That playstyle he came in with isn’t indicative of winning games.

I’ve always respected how Wiggins’ game matured over the years and how unselfish he’s been in playing a role that helps the team

This is facts. All the analytics shit forsure made the game less appealing to watch because almost everybody plays the same way now. Took the soul out of hoops smh

Him shooting threes better and accepting the modern game most likely saved his career. Throwing up mid range shots was not working for him in Minnesota lol