Andrew Wiggins

Wiggins declared for the 2014 NBA draft on March 31, 2014.[33] He was selected first overall in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 26, 2014,[8] becoming just the second Canadian ever picked number one in the draft, after Anthony Bennett, who had been selected first overall one year prior in the 2013 NBA draft, also by Cleveland.[34] On August 23, a three-team trade was completed involving the Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, Wiggins and Bennett were traded to the Wolves, along with Thaddeus Young, then of the Sixers. The Cavaliers received Kevin Love from Minnesota, while the Sixers received Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and a 2015 first-round draft pick from Cleveland.[35] Wiggins became just the second player since the ABA–NBA merger to be drafted as the number one pick, only to be traded afterwards without playing a single game for the team he was originally selected for; Chris Webber was the first following the 1993 draft.[36]

LeBron James guarding Wiggins in his rookie season with the Timberwolves, December 2014

In his NBA debut on October 29, 2014, Wiggins scored six points in a 105–101 season-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.[37] He went on to earn the Western Conference Rookie of the Month honours for the first two months of the season.[38][39] On January 31, he scored 33 points in a loss to the Cavaliers.[40] On February 13, Wiggins won the Rising Stars Challenge MVP after scoring 22 points for Team World in a 121–112 win over Team USA.[41] On April 30, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2014–15 season.[42][43]

On November 7, 2015, Wiggins scored a game-high 31 points in a 102–93 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls.[44] Two days later, he tied his career high with 33 points in a 117–107 win over the Atlanta Hawks, thus recording consecutive 30-point games for the first time in his career.[45] On December 18, he recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 99–95 win over the Sacramento Kings, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Tobias Harris as the only players 20 or younger to record at least 30 points, 10 boards and five assists in a game since 2000.[46] On January 8, 2016, he scored a then career-high 35 points in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[47]

Wiggins guarding Aaron Gordon during a game in November 2016

On November 8, 2016, Wiggins scored a career-high 36 points and hit a career-best six three-pointers in a 119–110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.[48] Five days later, he set a new career high with 47 points in a 125–99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first Canadian-born player to score 40-plus points in an NBA game.[49] On February 14, he had a 41-point effort in a 116–108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[50] The following day, he scored 40 points in a 112–99 win over the Denver Nuggets, becoming just the second Minnesota player to record back-to-back 40-point games.[51] On February 24, he scored 27 points in a 97–84 win over the Dallas Mavericks, topping 20 points for the 16th straight game, tying a franchise record.[52]

On October 11, 2017, Wiggins signed a five-year, $148 million contract extension with the Timberwolves.[53][54] On October 22, he scored 27 points and hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Timberwolves to a 115–113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[55] On January 20, 2018, he scored 22 of his season-high 29 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 115–109 win over the Toronto Raptors.[56] Two days later, he set a new season high with 40 points in a 126–118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[57] On February 7, 2018, in a 140–138 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wiggins reached 6,000 career points. At 22 years, 349 days, he became the sixth-youngest player to reach the plateau.[58]

On October 24, 2018, Wiggins was inactive for only the second time in his career, sitting out the Timberwolves' loss to the Toronto Raptors because of a bruised right quadriceps. The last time Wiggins was inactive was November 10, 2015, when he sat out a loss to the Charlotte Hornets because of a sore right knee.[59] Wiggins returned to action on October 31 against the Utah Jazz after missing three games.[60] He struggled early in the season, culminating in an 0-for-12 shooting night on November 24 against the Chicago Bulls.[61][62] It was the first time in his career he finished a game scoreless.[62] On December 23, he scored 30 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining to help the Timberwolves defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114–112.[63] He topped that total with 31 points on January 6 against Boston Celtics.[64] On January 6, he scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half of the Timberwolves' 108–86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[65] Two days later, he had a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds in a 119–117 win over the Thunder.[66] On January 18 against the San Antonio Spurs, Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell (7,161) for second place on the franchise's career scoring list.[67] On January 27, he scored a game-high 35 points in a 125–111 loss to the Jazz.[68]

On January 18, 2020, Wiggins achieved his first career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.

On February 6, 2020, Wiggins and two draft picks were traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jacob Evans, D'Angelo Russell and Omari Spellman.[69] Wiggins scored 24 points and had five steals in his debut for the Warriors during a 125–120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.