Andrew Wiggins: Biography, Early Life, Family, Education, Basketball Career, Achievements and Awards

Andrew Wiggins also known as Christopher Andrew Wiggins is a professional basketball player from Canada. He plays for the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors.

Andrew Wiggins is a former first-round draft pick and has taken part in a number of deals that have changed the course of NBA history.

Early Life and Education

Andrew Wiggins was born on February 23, 1995, and raised in the adjacent Thornhill, Ontario, neighbourhood of Vaughan. Andrew Wiggins is the son of American-born former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Canadian-born Barbadian sprinter Marita Payne-Wiggins, a former Olympian in the same sport.

Wiggins has five siblings: brothers Nick and Mitchell Jr., as well as sisters Stephanie, Angelica, and Taya. He attended Glen Shields Public School for elementary studies and Vaughan Secondary School for high school.

He then went to the University of Kansas. When Wiggins was nine years old, he joined a Toronto under-10 squad and started participating in organized basketball. He was 1.70 m (5 feet 7 inches) at the time. When he was 13 years old, he dunked a basketball for the first time. 

A year later, when he was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) tall, he broke a glass backboard at the Dufferin Clark Community Centre in Vaughan by dunking on a rim. Andrew Wiggins and Mychal Johnson have been together since his college days and have two daughters together born in 2018 and 2021.

High School Basketball Career 

Andrew Wiggins attended Vaughan Secondary School for his first two years of high school.

He guided the school’s AAAA basketball team to a 44-1 record in 2010–2011, helping them win the provincial championship in Ontario. Despite chants of “Over-rated!” from the spectators, he concluded the game with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

In 2011, he transferred to Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia.In his junior year, he averaged 24.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game. He had a 23.4 point, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.5 assists per game average as a senior.

Although Wiggins was considered to be the best potential for 2014, he declared in October 2012 that he would formally reclassify into his middle school class of 2013, having previously repeated a grade. He only required one more English credit to earn his Huntington Prep diploma. ESPN immediately ranked him above the previous top prospect, Jabari Parker.

After a Sports Illustrated piece questioned Canadian basketball and Wiggins’ work ethic on February 7, 2013, he retaliated the following day by scoring 57 points in a 111-59 victory over Marietta College.

On February 25, Wiggins was named the 2013 Naismith Prep Player of the Year. On March 28, he was recognized as the greatest high school athlete in the country by being awarded the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He was the first athlete in Canada who donned that name. He received the title of Mr. Basketball USA in May 2013. He was named the top high school basketball player by SLAM magazine.

In April 2013, Wiggins took part in the Jordan Brand Classic All-American game in Brooklyn. With 19 points, he tied Julius Randle for the most points scored by the East team.

College Basketball Career 

Andrew Wiggins had narrowed his college choices to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina. On May 14, 2013, he committed to Kansas and on June 19, 2013, Wiggins joined the Kansas Basketball team.

On January 13, 2014, he recorded a 77-70 victory over Iowa State. He was the only other freshman (besides Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) to record those totals in a victory over a ranked opponent in the previous 15 years. In his first season at Kansas, Wiggins averaged 17.1 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and hit 34.1% of his three-point field goals.

On January 22, 2014, the Los Angeles Athletic Club recognised Wiggins as one of the Top 25 Finalists for the John R. Wooden Men’s Player of the Year award. On February 28, he was named one of ten semifinalists for Naismith College Player of the Year.

On March 8, 2014, Wiggins’ 41 points against West Virginia were the most by a Big 12 Conference rookie since Michael Beasley’s 44 points against Baylor in 2008.

Professional Basketball Career(2014–2015) Star of the Year

Andrew Wiggins announced his NBA draught selection officially on March 31, 2014. On June 26, 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him first overall in the draught, making him the second Canadian to do so, following Anthony Bennett, who was chosen by Cleveland one year earlier in the first round of the 2013 NBA draught. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Philadelphia 76ers completed a three-team trade on August 23. Wiggins, Bennett, and former Sixers player Thaddeus Young were all dealt to the Wolves as part of the deal. 

The Cavaliers acquired Kevin Love from Minnesota, while the Sixers obtained Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved, and a first-round draught pick from Cleveland. Chris Webber was the first player since the ABA-NBA merger to be selected with the first overall pick and then traded without ever playing a single game, and Wiggins was the second player to be picked.

Andrew Wiggins made his NBA debut on October 29, 2014, scoring six points in a 105-101 season-opening loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He went on to earn the Western Conference’s Rookie of the Month title for the first two months of the season.

(2015–2017) Career-high scoring

With a game-high 31 points, Wiggins led his side to a 102-93 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on November 7, 2015. He tied his career high with 33 points two days later in a 117-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, and for the first time in his career, he had back-to-back games with 30 or more points. 

On December 18, he joined LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Tobias Harris as the only players under the age of 20 to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a game since 2000, when he put up 32 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in a 99-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings. On January 8, 2016, he set a career-best with 35 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers, although the club lost.

Wiggins scored a career-high 36 points and nailed a career-high six three-pointers in a 119-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on November 8, 2016. Five days later, he became the first player of Canadian descent to score 40 or more points in an NBA game. With a 125-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he set a new career high with 47 points.

On February 14, he scored 41 points in a 116-108 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The next day, he scored 40 points in a 112-99 victory over the Denver Nuggets, becoming only the second Minnesota player to do it. On February 24, he scored 27 points in a 97-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, tying a franchise record for the 16th consecutive game.

(2017–2020) First playoff appearance

Wiggins and the Timberwolves agreed to a five-year, $148 million contract deal on October 11, 2017. On October 22, he scored 27 points and hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to lead the Timberwolves to a 115-113 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

On January 20, 2018, he scored 22 of his season-high 29 points as the Timberwolves defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-109. 

He set a new season high with 40 points two days later in a 126-118 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Wiggins reached 6,000 career points on February 7, 2018, in a 140-138 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the age of 22 years and 349 days, he was the sixth-youngest player to break the barrier.

Wiggins missed the Timberwolves’ October 24, 2018, loss to the Toronto Raptors for the second time in his career due to a bruised right quadriceps. He also missed a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on November 10, 2015, owing to a sore right knee. That was the last game he missed. After missing three games, Wiggins returned to action on October 31 against the Utah Jazz.

His early-season difficulties culminated on November 24 with a 0-for-12 shooting effort against the Chicago Bulls. It was the first time in his career that he did not score during the entire game. He scored 30 points and made the game-winning layup with 14 seconds left in the Timberwolves’ 114-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 23. On January 2, he surpassed that total by scoring 31 points against the Boston Celtics.

On January 6, he scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half of the Timberwolves’ 108-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Two days later, he defeated the Thunder 119-117 with a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds.

On January 18, against the San Antonio Spurs, Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell (7,161) for second place on the team’s career scoring chart. On January 27, he scored 35 points in a 125-111 loss against the Jazz.

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

The Golden State Warriors (2020- Present)

(2020–2021) First-year in Golden State and play-in appearanceOn February 6, 2020, the Golden State Warriors traded Wiggins and two draught picks for Jacob Evans, D’Angelo Russell, and Omari Spellman. Wiggins had 24 points and five steals in his Warriors debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, a 125-120 loss.

The Warriors finished with the league’s worst record (15-50) and failed to make the playoffs. Wiggins had a season-high 40 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals in a 116-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on March 19, 2021. 

The Warriors were eligible for the newly created play-in tournament, but they were unable to proceed to the postseason for the second consecutive year due to consecutive defeats to the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers. In the Warriors’ loss to the Grizzlies, Wiggins produced a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

NBA championship and first All-Star selection (2021-present)

Wiggins scored 28 points and hit a career-high eight three-pointers in a 126-95 victory over the Orlando Magic on December 6, 2021. He was named as a Western Conference starter for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game on January 27, 2022, his first All-Star selection.

He was the seventh rookie All-Star to be chosen in his eighth or later season. Wiggins also made history as the first No. 1 overall choice to be picked for an All-Star game in his eighth or later season since the start of the current draught period (in 1966). 

On May 22, Wiggins set a postseason career high with 27 points and 11 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Wiggins had a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, tying a playoff career high. He had a double-double of 26 points and 13 rebounds in Game 5’s 104-94 triumph.

Wiggins earned his first NBA championship when the Warriors defeated the Celtics in six games. Throughout the NBA Finals, he averaged 18.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, finishing as the Warriors’ leading rebounder, blocker, and second-highest scorer. He also played defence on All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum of Boston.

On October 15, 2022, Wiggins agreed to a four-year, $109 million contract with the Warriors.

On November 20, he scored 22 points by making 6 of 11 three-point attempts. Wiggins, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson combined for the most three-pointers made in a game by a trio in NBA history, with a total of 23 made threes.

On August 20, 2015, Wiggins was added to the Canadian national team squad for the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship, which functioned as an Olympic qualifying event for 2016.Wiggins was named to the All-Tournament Team and helped Canada earn bronze by leading the team in scoring (15.1 points per game).

Wiggins averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in three games before returning to the squad for the 2020 FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Honours and Awards

Andrew Wiggins’ basketball career has been filled with victories and milestones. He has accumulated a lot of honours and awards some of which include the following;

• Mr. Basketball USA (2013)
• The Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2013
• Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2013)
• McDonald’s All-American (2013)
• NCAA 2nd team All-American (2014)
• 1st team All-Big 12 (2014)
• NBA Rookie of the Year (2015)

Andrew Wiggins’ Net worth

In 2023, Andrew Wiggins’ net worth is expected to be $65 million. His net worth is determined by his contract wages and a few endorsements. He was entitled to a total of $24 million under his previous contract. Andrew’s rookie contract was intended for four years, but it was extended to five years and increased in value to $148 million in 2017. 

Andrew amassed this fortune by accepting contracts with professional basketball teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors.Additionally, he also has sponsorship contracts with FitBit and Adidas.

Controversies

Andrew Wiggins allegedly discovered his girlfriend had been having an affair with his best buddy on Valentine’s Day. It is also alleged that the Canadian Basketball player has been caring for his best friend’s daughters all this time and not his.

The rumours followed the absence of Andrew Wiggins in Warriors games and no precise reason was given for him missing the games. However, the reason turned out to be that Mitchell Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins’ father, had been coping with a major medical issue.