Minnesota Timberwolves Are Trying To Push Andrew Wiggins To Greatness

For a number one pick of the most ballyhooed NBA draft in over a decade, Andrew Wiggins faced an outsized amount of scrutiny leading up to it. Even louder than questions that his relatively raw package of his skills would never catch up this supreme athleticism, though, was a critique that Wiggins didn’t have the necessary alpha dog mentality befitting a franchise cornerstone. Now entrenched as such with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a hectic few months later, Wiggins’ team is doing everything it can to make sure that concern doesn’t come to fruition.

In an excellent story by NBA.com’s David Aldridge profiling the Minnesota’s approach to nurturing their young star, ‘Wolves sources say they’re pushing Wiggins to make sure he reaches his sky-high potential.

The vets have pushed Wiggins in practice to see if he’ll respond. In one of the Wolves’ first scrimmages, one of the wings was being physical with Wiggins as he guarded him, to see what Wiggins would do. It happened once. A second time. The third time, Wiggins started to hold his ground, showing the lockdown ability on defense that Minnesota hopes will become a regular part of his NBA game when he gets stronger.

“You saw with this kid, sometimes something has to trigger in him for him to come back at you,” a team source said. “What we’ve been trying to get him to do is be that way from the beginning.”

That’s a sound strategy, and one of which Wiggins understands the value. When it became apparent that he would eventually be traded to Minny by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 19 year-old told college coach Bill Self he wanted to play for a team that “forced him to be something” as opposed to letting him grow in the background. Clearly, the ‘Wolves are exercising that approach.

And though Wiggins hasn’t dominated the ball or taken over offensively like many expect of first overall picks through Minnesota’s two preseason games, he’s played extremely well on both ends nonetheless. Wiggins is averaging 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, two assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 43 percent from the field and making all three of his tries from beyond the arc in exhibition play thus far, clearly emerging as the Timberwolves’ most impactful perimeter defender in the process.

It’s that consistent engagement on the defensive end that proves Minny’s tough-love strategy is already paying off. There’s two ends to the floor in basketball, after all, and Wiggins’ ferocity as an on-ball defender and weak-side intimidator bely his reputation as a player that tends to coast through games on occasion. His performance on the other end lends some credence to that notion, but only on the surface – the ‘Wolves maintain they’re glad Wiggins isn’t forcing the issue offensively, instead taking open shots and attacking in spots where he feels most comfortable.

As his understanding and general offensive game continue to progress, his defensive effort so far with Minny suggests he’ll take a similar approach to that side of the ball. Until then, Wiggins will just continue getting better, with continuous, pointed pushes from his team as the means behind that improvement.

Will Wiggins win Rookie of the Year?

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