Mar 30, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz center
Rudy Gobert(27) at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Wiggins = New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Both Wiggins and Beckham Jr. got off to slow starts at the beginning of their respective seasons (Wiggins took some time to adjust, while Beckham Jr. was injured), but then they both exploded in the second half of the season.
Wiggins put up some big scoring numbers and was the runaway choice for rookie of the year. Beckham Jr. put up historically great numbers for a rookie, but even though Wiggins didn’t quite match those, this comparison still works for a few reasons.
First, neither of them seems to like the spotlight all that much. Wiggins has always been quiet, and it’s just a part of his personality. After his amazing catch last year, Beckham Jr. has appeared in some commercials, but at the beginning of the year he talked about how he wishes that some of the attention would go away so that he could just focus on his work.
They both also have some pretty big things expected of them in their second seasons. Beckham Jr. couldn’t really improve much on his rookie season other than staying healthy, but if he puts up numbers that even just approach what he did last year, he will have met the expectations of him coming into this season.
Plenty has been written about Wiggins’ expectations this year here at Dunking With Wolves, but hopefully he can start the year as well as Beckham Jr. has started his. Wiggins is expected to keep rising towards stardom, and with a year of experience in the bag, he should be able to get off to a hot start this season.
They both can also get some of the pressure taken off of them this year by teammates. Victor Cruz is coming back soon for the Giants, which will put another dynamic receiving threat across from Beckham Jr. Wiggins will get Karl-Anthony Towns this year, and should also get to play more with Ricky Rubio, who will make his job much easier.
Finally, Wiggins and Beckham Jr. showed a flair for the spectacular in their rookie seasons. Beckham Jr. had the aforementioned catch along with a few other great plays, while Wiggins started dunking on everyone in the second half of the season (most impressively on Rudy Gobert, as shown above). Both have shown that stardom is in the future, and they both should continue to progress towards that this season.
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