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The dunk heard round the league... around the world to be honest, and it came on despair of one of the games youngest and brightest stars.
That's right... Andrew Wiggins absolutely put Luka on a poster. A playoff highlight that will haunt the Mavericks for years to come, and rightfully so. Dallas is down 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals.
The wins and season have been linked to Curry, Klay, Draymond, and even Jordan Poole. But it's time to show some love to Andrew Wiggins.
This story starts back in 2014. As a standout star at Kansas, he declared for the draft and was selected by the Cavaliers. A team that went 33-49, finishing 3rd in the NBA Central, and compiled by the likes of former No.1 picks Kyrie Irving and Anthony Bennett, and other NBA names like Andrew Bynum, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, and Seth Curry.
That was going to be short lived. Just over 3 months later, the King returned home. LeBron James opted out of his Heat contract and came back to Cleveland to win a title. In order to build his team, Wiggins was centered a round a massive deal that would send Kevin Love to the Cavs. Wiggins made his way to Minnesota.
He made a name for himself their, winning the Rising Stars Challenge MVP, and later the Rookie of the Year.
Wiggins at his ROY reception - Photo: NBA
He began to blossom for the Timberwolves, averaging 23.6 points per game in 2016, and leading the team to the playoffs the season after. After 42 games in the 2020 season, Wiggins was posting just over 22ppg with career highs in assists and rebounds (5.2 and 3.7 respectively)
In unfamiliar waters with injuries stacked up, the last place Warriors were looking to retool. On February 6th, 2020 Wiggins alongside two draft picks were traded to Golden State for D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans, and Omari Spellman. In his debut, he dropped 24 points with 5 assists, proving to be a valuable building block.
Flash forward to this season, with a healthy roster around him, Wiggins thrived in the environment. After eight seasons, he finally earned an All-Star nod, and to make it even sweeter, named an All-Star starter. But it's more than just induvial accolades. He is contributing. Wiggins scored a playoff career-high 27 points and tied his playoff career-high with 11 rebounds in a 109–100 Game 3 win.
The Warriors are one win away from returning to the finals, their first since 2019 after going to five straight (and winning three), and Wiggins is one of the reasons why.
With dunks like that and consistent scoring, he's ready to become a household name yet again.