Andrew Wiggins hails from Canada and has previously been dubbed Maple Jordan.
With his new team the Golden State Warriors he has a new nickname. He has earned the name “Two Way Wiggs”. This is a shout out to his defensive and offensive prowess.
Wiggins has already been called “a walking 20 points” by his teammate Steph Curry.
In the beginning of his career he had the reputation as a poor defender. This reputation was based off flawed analysis using advanced stats that perpetuated a narrative. It’s hard for an individual to find success as a defender when they are a part of a bad defensive system.
Wiggins is showing himself to be the elite defender he always has been and the stats are backing it up.
When you play on a team with a bad defensive system it’s extremely hard to play. You have no help if your man beats you. You have to play more help defense yourself. Your role is poorly defined.
In Golden State Wiggins has a well defined role on defense. Guard the opposing teams top offensive threat. And he has excelled.
Top defenders this season by defended field goal percentage with a minimum of 200 DFGA:
1. Mike Conley – 38.1% (86/226)
2. Andrew Wiggins – 38.5% (141/366)
3. Jakob Poeltl – 39.3% (137/349)
4. Kevin Durant – 39.3% (90/229)
5. Jamal Murray – 39.8% (86/216)
(twitter – r/warriors)
He is Number 2 on a list while none of the others listed likely spend as much time defending the elite offensive talents of the NBA and it shows in the volume of times Wiggins has field goals attempted against him.
What makes his new nickname really fitting is the Canadian connection of many hockey players from up north who carry as a badge of honour being a two-way player.
He doesn’t yet have any hardware that would bring more notoriety to his defensive game but that should come with time.
