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25-under-25: Biggest disappointments

By Micah Wimmer

PHOENIX, AZ - NOVEMBER 16: Marquese Chriss
PHOENIX, AZ - NOVEMBER 16: Marquese Chriss /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks to the media after Game Three of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets on April 21, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 21: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks to the media after Game Three of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets on April 21, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

6. Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins entered the league on a wave of high expectations. He was unanimously hailed as one of the best high school prospects in years and after his lone season at Kansas, he was the consensus choice as the best player in the draft. After being selected by the Cavaliers, he was included in a trade to the Timberwolves later that summer, but in his four years with the Wolves, Wiggins has failed to live up to expectations.

While he won Rookie of the Year in 2015 by averaging nearly 17 points per game, he’s failed to improve very much since then. His percentages and counting stats creeped up over his first three seasons, peaking in 2016-17 when he averaged over 23 points per game on 45 percent shooting, while making 35 percent of his 3s, but with the addition of Jimmy Butler the following season, his numbers regressed. Last season, with Butler, Wiggins’ shooting percentages dropped across the board and he scored less than 18 points per game. Coming out of college, Wiggins was also supposed to be a very good defender and while he still has the potential to be one, he has yet to display the inclination or ability to do so.

According to Basketball-Reference, through four seasons, judging by Win Shares, some of the players most similar to Wiggins are Matt Bonner, Andrea Bargnani, Patrick Patterson, and Kenny Thomas, which isn’t exactly the company Minnesota hoped Wiggins would be in when they traded for him. With the drafting of Karl-Anthony Towns after Wiggins’ rookie season, no longer was Wiggins expected to be the franchise savior, but a solid complementary piece and now it’s not even clear if he can be that.

His ceiling seems to be a more athletic, but less crafty version of DeMar DeRozan, which would be a good player for anyone to become, though with each passing season, it becomes harder and harder to see Wiggins reaching those heights. It’s doubly disappointing too because his ceiling appeared to be so much higher when he entered the league four years ago.

Of course, it’s not entirely unprecedented for young, potential-filled players to take a huge leap after a few underwhelming seasons (see: Oladipo, Victor), so perhaps it’d be unwise to completely abandon hope that Wiggins could develop into who he was expected to be, but with each passing year, the 23-year-old Wiggins looks more and more like a undistinguished high volume scorer and little more.

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