Minneapolis/St.
Paul – The NBA today named
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins as its Kia NBA Western Conference
Rookie of the Month for January. This is the third consecutive month Wiggins
has earned the honor, the only player in franchise history to win the award
multiple times. He's the first rookie to win the award in three straight months
since Damian Lillard during the 2012-13 season.
Wiggins led all
qualified rookies in scoring (19.8 ppg), field goal percentage (47.1%) and
minutes played (38.4 mpg) while raking 2nd in FT percentage (79.0%), 4th in
rebounding (4.6 rpg), 4th in steals (1.41 spg) and 5th in blocks (0.59 bpg).
Wiggins tallied 20+ points nine times in 17 starts during the month, finishing
as Minnesota's top scorer on eight occasions.
Wiggins opened the
month with five consecutive 20+ point efforts, running his overall streak to
six, the longest such streak by a Wolves rookie in club history. He scored a
team-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Minnesota's New Year's Day
loss to Sacramento, adding a season-high four steals. Two weeks later, he
poured in a then-season-high 31 points against Denver, the highest point total
by a Wolves rookie since Stephon Marbury had 33 in 1996-97. He finished the
month by erupting for a season-high 33 points against Cleveland, matching Kevin
Garnett and Marbury for the most points by a Wolves teenager in a game and
finishing just two points shy of the franchise rookie record (Laettner, 35).
Originally
selected by the Cleveland with the 1st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft,
Wiggins was acquired by the Wolves on Aug. 23, 2014 in a three-team trade. This
season he leads all qualified rookies in scoring (15.5 ppg) and minutes (33.9
mpg), while ranking 3rd in steals (1.15 spg), 5th in blocks (0.55 bpg) and
rebounding (4.2 rpg) and 7th in assists (1.8 apg).
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