Andrew Wiggins is, some say, the future of basketball. The six-foot-eight small forward at Huntington Prep is the best NBA prospect in high school, the first-ever Canadian winner of the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and an apparent lock for top pick at the 2014 NBA draft. And for all the hype, it seems that Wiggins is the only one who’s not getting ahead of himself.
AGE 18 BORN Toronto Height 6’8 weight 195 LB. wingspan 7’0
On being as good a player as anyone in the world at his age
My father, my brothers, my mother and my sister always told me that. All my friends told me that. From a young age, I didn’t really realize it because I was unknown, but once I started travelling a lot, I got to compare myself to others. When I was in Canada, I don’t think I was ranked on ESPN or anything like that. The last couple of years, I elevated my game. The transition from Canada to the States was big because it got me a little more competition, the scouts, everyone being able to see me.
On all the attention he gets at the Nike Hoop summit, where he recently led the world team over the U.S. for a second straight year
I don’t really see a lot of NBA scouts—I only really see them at the Hoop Summit. It’s my best opportunity. I think [last year] we were the third or fourth World team to ever win the Summit. It’s been something special.
On his playing style
I’m unselfish, but selfish at the same time. I always give up the ball for a better shot. If my teammate is wide open, I’ll give him the ball, but I also want to score. Every player does.
On his basketball heroes
My father [Mitchell Wiggins was the 23rd overall pick in the 1983 draft and played six seasons in the NBA] and older brothers. That’s who drove me to be as good as I am now. My father is a great defender; I think I’m a pretty good defender. He can shoot better—I’m getting there. He can score and I can score. And we both like to win. My mom would tell me stories about how when my dad went to practice, he would always bring me and let me watch. My whole game represents my father and my two brothers. That’s how I created my game. My game is a mix of all three of theirs because I was younger, on the sideline, watching their moves and putting them in my game.
On his two older brothers—both of whom play U.S. college ball
Mitch Jr.? His vertical leap is higher than mine. Nick? I have his versatility. He can dribble, he can shoot.
On what it would mean to win an Olympic or a world championship medal for canada
It would be big for the country. We know we have the pieces to do well—maybe get a medal, maybe win. It would open up the eyes of other countries to take us seriously.
On his mother’s Olympic silver medals, which she won for canada in track at the 1984 games in L.A.
The last time I saw them I was young, so I didn’t know how big it was. It would mean a lot to follow in my mother’s footsteps. I’d try not to get the silver—I want the gold.
On his own track skills
I was good in elementary school, in the 100 metres and the triple jump. High jump? I’m a two-foot jumper so it was hard for me. 400 metres? I can sprint 100 metres, but then my legs get tired. I would have done track in high school, but we don’t have a team.
On the greatest player to ever put on a Toronto Raptors jersey
Vince Carter? One of the best athletes of all time. One of the best ever in Toronto. But he’s not better than T-Mac. McGrady was more versatile. In his prime, he could do more.
On what happens when the entire wiggins family (andrew is the fourth of six children) gets together
It’s a fun time. We’re all so close. I give credit to my mother and father because they kept us all grounded. They raised us the right way. Without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. They always supported me. Loved me through my hard times and good times.
On the haters
That’s just someone’s opinion. That doesn’t faze me. They’re not helping me. I don’t even know their names, so it doesn’t really affect me.
On Steve Nash’s opinion that Wiggins’s toughest competition won’t be other players, but sky-high expectations and the spotlight
People think I’m low-key, that I don’t like the attention. He probably thinks that might be hard for me. I didn’t like it last year or two years ago—I didn’t really like the media. I was new to it. But now I’m used to it.
On the next generation of Canadian basketball stars
Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, and people who are making it big now, like Kevin Pangos, Myck Kabongo, put Canada on the map. Now people know Canada has talent just like America.
On whether or not he’ll spend more than one year in college before making the jump to the nba
Whatever God has planned for me. I don’t know.
This story originally appeared in Sportsnet magazine. Subscribe here.
