T'Wolves: Can Wiggins be a Hall of Fame Type Player?

When looking at Wiggins, one can obviously see that he is a spectacular player.  He can score any way he wants to, draws a lot of fouls, and has begun to hit crucial shots at the end of games.  But is that really enough to get him to the Hall of Fame? Is he on the road to be that kind of player?

(Getty Images: Elsa)

My answer is no.

While Wiggins is becoming a star in this league, he has many flaws that can't be overlooked.  When you look at the greatest of the great players like Jordan or LeBron, you see they fill the stat sheet with everything, not just points.  Looking at Jordan's olds stats, I found a pizza and a Mountain Dew because he could fill his stat sheet with everything; even a full meal for an adult male who still lives in his parents basement.  I mean, I'm not breaking ground on any new science or anything here.  It's a very basic thing that everyone in the league sees. If Wiggins wants to become what everyone knows he can be, he needs to start playing an all around game.

Points (20.5 PPG) : There's no question here that Wiggins can score.  He's got a elite jumper, ability to finish at the rim, and gets fouled a lot (which is something the great scorers can do).  However, sometimes he settles too easily for jumpers instead of taking the ball to a unprotected rim, gives up a open 3 opportunity to move in closer for a contested 2 point shot, or looses control of his dribble driving through traffic.  This are all parts of his game that he needs to work on either mentally or physically if he truly wants to be an elite scorer and player.  Not saying 20.5 points a game is bad by any means (which I totally am and I'm a hypocrite), but he could do so much more if he put in the work. 44.5% shooting percentage needs to move up and his 75% free throw shooting should be around 80-84%.  Like I said, these are just nit picks in his game, but shouldn't be overlooked if we are talking about a Hall of Fame type player.

(Getty Images: David Sherman)

"When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball.  You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals." 

-Michael Jordan

"Now onto the gross statistics on Andrew Wiggins."

-K.E. Smith

Assists (1.9 APG): Now I get he isn't a point guard so assists with a player like Rubio on the team isn't a big deal, but it totally is.  The amount of attention that he gets on the offensive side of the ball is great enough that it always leaves a man open when the inevitable double team comes.  Far too many times Wiggins will lose control of the ball because he hangs on too long and doesn't recognize the double team fast enough.  That, of course, leads to low assists per game because he's missing opportunities to have someone else score wide open off his passing and vision of the court.  He also doesn't see the floor well when he drives to the hoop which is because of his poor protection of the ball.  If he can't handle the ball properly, he'll likely be focusing too much on not loosing the ball than keeping his eyes open for potential shooters and lanes.  When he crashes the rim, unless it's a wide open lay up, there is always someone open.  This is another part of his game that I would like to see develop in the next few years.  If you look at the great players, even ones who are 2 guards and forwards, average around 4-5 assists a game because they understand their ability to draw the attention of the defense. This must come into Wiggins game if he wants to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

Rebounds (3.6 RPG): Another underachieving statistic for Wiggins.  Being a 6'8" guard/forward playing 35 minutes a game, this can be seen as pretty bad area of his game.  Too many times has Wiggins had games where he scores 20 points and the rest of his line is filled with goose eggs. (I guess he too can fill the stat sheet with food. Huh!)  He needs to learn how to box out his own guy better as well as crash the boards when he has an open lane to do so.  I could look over this stat if I wanted to, but it's becoming an issue when his team gets out rebounded night in and night out. Everyone isn't fighting on each possession as if it isn't meaningful, but it completely is.

Turnovers (2.2 TOPG): This comes back to his lack of dribbling and protecting the ball correctly.  If he could push himself to become better in that area, this blemish of a statistic would slowly move down so he wouldn't be at a .85 AST/TO ratio.  Anything under a one is hard to watch, and this...is harder to watch at than the movie Glitter starring Mariah Carey.  At least for the type of player that would get to the Hall of Fame.

(AP Photo: Jim Mone)

"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, Then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."

-Michael Jordan

"Michael Jordan, can I have your pizza and Mountain Dew?"

-K.E. Smith

Defense (.8 SPG .6 BPG): Yikes.  Barf.  Yikes and barf.  This right here is a huge grey area. I may be overreacting here, but I'm not (humble) and this is Wiggins biggest weakness.  He seems to get outmatched on the defensive side of the ball and players aren't afraid to attack him here.  Simply put; his effort lacks therefor he's an easy target on defense.

He needs to work on his game that doesn't include scoring the basketball and I know the biggest reason for all of his downfalls: effort and passion. 

When he plays the game, he doesn't play it with any kind of urgency or attitude.  This is why he underperforms. If you look at his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns who wears his heart on his sleeve you can tell the difference between the players and who want to win and the ones who just play the game.  Karl has that passion, that drive, and that pain when he loses.  Wiggins just seems as if this is a job of his and he just goes to work and does minimum effort to get by, which is sad to say because he's such a great player with an unlimited about of potential. His effort and passion is the reason he loses the ball to the rim, why he doesn't crash for rebounds and why his defense is so poor.  He lacks that will and desire to win. Heck, he hits game winning shots and gets to the line in the final minutes, but he doesn't attack the way he could.  The way a winner would.  The way a Hall a Fame type player should.

(Getty Images: David Sherman)

Can Wiggins become a Hall of Fame guy? Of course!  But he needs to realize that it will take a lot of hard work, effort and passion day in and day out.  Jordan once said, "play every possession like it's your last." Wiggins needs to read those words every time he walks on to the court if he wants to be "the guy."