All-star, NBA champion, regular production player during the playoffs, Andrew Wiggins clearly had his career-best season in 2021-22.
With the returns of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in top form, the Canadian has also learned a lot, as he confided in the podcast “The VC Show”, co-hosted by Vince Carter.
He had to find his place, that of a “role player”, or rather of a lieutenant. An adjustment not necessarily obvious for the number 1 of the 2014 Draft, used to taking on big responsibilities when he was playing in Minnesota.
“You just have to find a balance. What I learned is that when you play in a team cut to win the title, there will be sacrifices to be made. Each match can be different… Between a match which can be yours, during which you are hot, you can do your thing, and the next match, where it can be someone else. Being in this team, that’s what I learned. We have a lot of good players, a lot of great players, who can do a lot of things, score, defend, create… You have to have this balance in mind and know how to put your ego aside in order to win. »
“I didn’t get a single vote this year”
He had to find ways to be useful, through his efficiency, his versatility in all aspects of the game, including defense, an area in which he particularly shone during the last playoff campaign. Among his goals for next season, defense now holds an important place.
“I would love to be All-Star again and of course winning the title is the main goal. But if there’s one thing I’m really going to strive for this coming season, it’s be on the NBA All-Defensive Team. It’s one of my big goals and I hope I opened some eyes during the playoffs so I could be in the conversation.” he added. “I didn’t get a single vote this year. I took it personally during the playoffs, I thought it was my chance to really show what I could do, to put my name on the radar.
More than his punitive expeditions on Luka Doncic, his defense on Jayson Tatum in the NBA Finals made an impression.
“Everything was tough, because he is talented, extremely talented. He can do a lot of things on offense. My goal was just to try to turn it off. There’s one thing that Draymond (Green) used to tell me all the time, and that was that I had to cut off the snake’s head. It was the main threat. We know who he is, but if I managed to complicate his task, make him work on both sides of the field, it means that I was doing my job well.he continued. “I love defending against the best player on the opposing team. It takes your game to another level, trying to take advantage of him… I wanted to show that I could do it. I took my mission seriously, no matter what player I was on.
The league’s best forwards have been warned…
| Andrew Wiggins | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | MIN | 82 | 36 | 43.7 | 31.0 | 76.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 16.9 |
| 2015-16 | MIN | 81 | 35 | 45.9 | 30.0 | 76.1 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 20.7 |
| 2016-17 | MIN | 82 | 37 | 45.2 | 35.6 | 76.0 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 23.6 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 82 | 36 | 43.8 | 33.1 | 64.3 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 17.7 |
| 2018-19 | MIN | 73 | 35 | 41.2 | 33.9 | 69.9 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 18.1 |
| 2019-20 * | All Teams | 54 | 34 | 44.7 | 33.2 | 70.9 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 21.8 |
| 2019-20 * | MIN | 42 | 35 | 44.4 | 33.1 | 72.0 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 22.4 |
| 2019-20 * | GOS | 12 | 34 | 45.7 | 33.9 | 67.2 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 19.4 |
| 2020-21 | GOS | 71 | 33 | 47.7 | 38.0 | 71.4 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 18.6 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 73 | 32 | 46.6 | 39.3 | 63.4 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 17.2 |
| Total | 598 | 35 | 44.8 | 35.0 | 72.3 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 19.3 | |