We Just Got Our First “Wiggins Game” of the Year

Andrew Wiggins was on another level last night—a level that Warriors fans have been yearning for ever since the former Timberwolves star joined the team.

In a 123-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Andrew Wiggins went for 35 points on 14-19 shooting. He also shot 50% from three-point range and chipped in four rebounds along with two steals. At the end of the first half, Wiggins finished with 22 points on an outstanding 9-9 from the field. While those stats are great, the highlight(s) of the night came in the form of Wiggins’ two monster slams over Karl-Anthony Towns.

The first dunk came at the end of the 2nd quarter off of a pass from Steph Curry where Wiggins beat Anthony Edwards to the basket, took off from outside the paint and jammed the ball on Karl-Anthony Towns’s head. The second came on a put-back dunk over KAT’s back on the heels of a missed three-point attempt by Jordan Poole. Both dunks were poster-worthy, to say the least.

Time and time again since he has joined the Warriors, Wiggins has passively finished around the rim when driving to the basket. Even though Wiggins is fresh off a career year with the Warriors, we haven’t seen a whole lot of aggressiveness from the star swingman this year. Yes, Wiggins has been putting up decent numbers, but with his bounce and finishing ability, he seemed to be on auto-pilot through the Warriors first 10 games. However, last night’s performance against his former team—and especially against KAT—may very well have broken the seal.

After the game, Wiggins stated, “I’m going to keep it rolling. I’m going to stay aggressive.”

Not only is that statement music to the ears of Warriors fans, but it’s music to the ears of Warriors players, too. Steph Curry was especially happy to see Wiggins finish with authority.

"I'm going to text Wiggs that picture of him dunking on KAT every game right before the game, to see if that helps get the juices flowing. So you got 72 text messages from me coming his way," said Curry.

Wiggins has always shown flashes of the explosiveness that he’s capable of playing with on a regular basis, but it’s been difficult to find out what makes him tick. It seems like playing against his former team continuously brings that explosiveness out of him.

In four games against the Timberwolves, Wiggins has averaged 26 points per game, which is the highest against any team he’s faced. He’s been scoring with efficiency against the Wolves, too, as he has shot 60% from the field, including 40% from three-point range. His +/- against the Wolves is also at +38. It also seems like Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is aware of these numbers, as he said after the game: “This is the second time that I've been with the team...both times he's had big nights, he obviously has a personal vendetta..."

If only Wiggins could have a personal vendetta against every team—maybe then we’d see more of the high-flying, aggressive Wiggins we know is deep down inside the talented Canadian.

(Photo credit: Matt York/Associated Press)