Don’t look now, but Andrew Wiggins’ defense is improving

Andrew Wiggins‘ defense has improved leaps and bounds already this season as the up-and-down Timberwolves continue to fight in the rugged Western Conference.

For his first three seasons in the NBA, there has been a predictable narrative about Andrew Wiggins.

The 6-foot-8 Canadian national is an athletic freak whose constantly improving handle allows him to get to the basket at will, where he finishing at a high rate. Wiggins may not be a deadly shooter from mid-range or from deep, but opposing teams must at least respect his shooting ability.

It didn’t take long for opposing players, coaches and staff to figure that out. And even if they still couldn’t figure out how to defend it, as Wiggins consistently enhanced his offensive game from year to year.

Dont forget, he is only 22 years old.

But there is a downside to the narrative that Andrew Wiggins has created for himself, and that’s his historically awful defensive output. Eighteen games in to his fourth NBA season, however, Wiggins is finally beginning to show signs of life on the defensive end.

Starting with the all-important eye test, Wiggins is clearly better on the less flashy side of the court this season. Previously, Andrew Wiggins had shown flashes of on-ball defensive excellence. Minor, fleeting flashes.

But to begin this NBA year he has been a handy one-on-one defender almost every time he has been forced in to isolation defense or had to finish a good Wolves defensive play by making the right decisions.

Something he already knew, apparently.

The Jimmy Butler Effect comes in to play here, as Wiggins improved defense is undoubtedly helped by Butler taking the premier perimeter assignment every night. Despite his claims to become a better off-ball defender, Wiggins has still been pretty bad in that area this season, purely from viewing standpoint.

Although he has clearly shown more attention to his match-up’s. He was basically showing none before this season though, so we will still mark it down as a win in the defensive category for Wiggins.

He must  continue to become a better off-ball stopper; moments like this still happen far too often due to an intense proneness to ball-watching, instead of focusing on his man.

There needs to be less of that from Wiggins — and by less, I mean never do that again.

Lowlights aside, to truly appreciate the growth of Andrew Wiggins on defense, you must dive deeper than just the eye test and look at the statistical difference on defense from his previous season to his current season. Especially as of late.

Per NBA stats, over the past ten games Wiggins’ basic defensive statistics alone are a much improved version of ‘Maple Jordan’. He’s averaging 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, compared to his 1.0 steals and 0.4 blocks per outing last season.

But Andrew Wiggins’ statistical growth isn’t even close to being done yet.

His defensive rating is dropping by the game, and his current 105.1 mark smashes his 2016-17 rating of 110.4 out of the park. 

But again, it’s been the last ten games that Andrew Wiggins has shined in, causing his defensive rating plummet to 100.7 over that time.

It’s a staggeringly good mark that has him second on the Timberwolves roster in that category, ranking only behind defensive stud Taj Gibson (98.1).

Once again, some of this stems from Wiggins’ easier defensive assignments and a generally (slightly) improved team defense, but that isn’t to take away from Wiggins, whose improvement continues to peak throughout other defensive statistics.

According to NBA.com/stats, His Total Defensive Win Shares so far this season amounts to 0.6, which ranks him a surprising 73rd in the entire league, above more-than-competent perimeter defenders like Justice Winslow and DeMarre Carroll.

For reference, Wiggins totaled just 1.6 Defensive Win Shares for the entirety of 2016-17, which ranked him 165th in the NBA.

These statistics may surprise many, with Wiggins’ defense being widely labelled as the reason he will never fulfill his superstar potential. However his play for the whole season, but the last ten games in particular, have bought a new sense of hope for Wolves fans who had given up on Andrew Wiggins ever being a solid defensive presence.

And all this despite his lower per-game scoring output in this stacked offense in Minnesota.

It seems that Tom Thibodeau (and Jimmy Butler) are finally starting to get through to Wiggins, which is massive for a Timberwolves team who despite gaining Jimmy Butler for Zach LaVine, also lost Ricky Rubio‘s defensive brilliance in favor of Jeff Teague. Teague, to put it mildly, isn’t the defender that the Spanish point guard was for the Wolves.

If Wiggins can continue rising as a perimeter defender, the Timberwolves’ 11-7 record may actually be a step below where they can, and will be.

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For Minnesota fans who have waited over 13 long years for playoff success, this is nothin’ but good news.