Andrew Wiggins, You have the NBA’s Attention

At age 19, Andrew Wiggins is growing up as an NBA player even faster than we could have hoped. Through 39 starts, he is averaging 15.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Not bad for someone who is still over a year removed from being able to purchase alcohol. However, it is what he has done lately that has people around the league taking notice.

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In Wiggins’ last 13 games, he’s averaging 21.4 points. Only twice in that span has he finished with under 20 points in a game. Most recently, he dropped a career high 31 points against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

During that game, even the officials couldn’t help but give praise. According to head coach Flip Saunders, an official came up to him during the game and said he is ‘simply astonished’ by Wiggins’ improvement on the floor.

But Andrew is just glad his struggling team pulled out the victory. “We got the win, played hard, executed down the stretch. Nothing feels better than that,” he said.

Though injuries are a big reason why, Wiggins’ minutes have also sharply increased of late. He’s averaging a team high (by a lot) 38.3 minutes per game in the month of January. While he is trending in the right direction right now, rookie seasons can be roller coasters for even the most highly touted players. Take it from 11 year veteran Mo Williams.

“A lot of strides he can continue to make,” said Williams, who recently dropped a Timberwolves record 52 points. “Rookies run into a wall right now, but he’s hitting his stride, which is good. It’s tough to log a lot of minutes in this league, do it consistently every day. Have to go out and produce. … I think he’s handling it pretty well.”

In the future, Cavaliers fans will probably be haunted by the name Andrew Wiggins. But for now, they can just sit and watch him cruise to the rookie of the year title as Kevin Love fails to meet expectations.

The Timberwolves (7-32) obviously have a long way to go. It will be very interesting to see how the team looks when Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin return. Though they’ve won 2 of their last 3, the Wolves have been nothing short of awful since those untimely injuries.  Can Wiggins keep up this torrid pace when other scorers return? I’d like to this so. Thus far, Andrew Wiggins has been as advertised, if not better.

You can watch #22 play next on Monday at 1 pm central against the Hornets in Charlotte.

Next: The Wolves take another blow to the line up

Jan 5, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) is guarded by Denver Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo (10) during the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports