StaTuesday: Andrew Wiggins and 2,000 career points
After being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves shortly after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins was expected to be a cornerstone of the franchise.
Wiggins certainly hasn't disappointed.
On Monday, the second-year shooting guard from Kansas became the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career points.
It should be no surprise in this era of one-and-dones -- and before that, players going directly from the NBA from high school -- the five others are all still active. In fact, among the six youngest, only half -- Wiggins, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant -- went to college (and both were only there for one year).
While Wiggins joins several other elite NBA players, there's even better news. Each of the other five increased their scoring average from the time they got to 2,000 points to where they are now, and the majority by around 5 points per game.
* -- Kobe Bryant's average is in his first three seasons as he didn't reach 2,000 career points until then
Wiggins has already increased his scoring average from 16.9 points per game last season to 20.7 so far this year. Based on the other players reaching 2,000 points at an earlier age and at his current 17.9 ppg over two seasons, Wiggins finishing his career around 21-22 points per game wouldn't be offline.
In case you are wondering how Wiggins compares to Kevin Garnett, who entered the NBA and joined the Timberwolves, like Wiggins, at age 19, well here you go: Garnett reached 2,000 career points in his 149th game. Of course, Garnett averaged just 10.4 points his rookie season and 17.0 in his second year -- a combined 13.7 points per game over the two seasons. His career scoring average is 17.9 points.
Garnett is currently 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list (19th when you include ABA stats into the totals for players). It's not hard to imagine Wiggins being that high one day as well.
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