Andrew Wiggins' defensive prowessa byproduct of his freakish athleticismwas lauded prior to the NBA draft. However, it's been seismic offensive developments that have accelerated his ascent up the professional bell curve.Throughout the month of January, Wiggins' numbers have spiked in conjunction with an apparent boost in confidence as well as the expansion of his offensive arsenal:According to ESPN Stats & Info, Wiggins has been on a scoring tear of late:"Based on where we were, and where everyone thought Wiggins wascoming out of college in Kansas people thought he was inconsistent and that you didnt know what you were going to get out of himI think over the last month or six weeks we are way ahead of where I thought we would be," Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders told MinnPost.com's Britt Robson.Up front, it's important to note the Timberwolves have had no choice but to make Wiggins their featured centerpiece with Ricky Rubio sidelined due to a severe left-ankle sprain. Furthermore, he's playing on a team mired in a lengthy rebuild. As a result, Wiggins has been provided free rein to play through mistakes en route to developing multiple facets of his game with few repercussions.Possessing a polished release on his jump shot, outside shooting never figured to be a major problem for Wiggins. On the season, he's shooting 42.1 percent on catch-and-shoot threes, per SportVU player-tracking data.That steady stroke has allowed him to post a true shooting percentage of 50.4 despite a rough acclimation over the season's first two months. As a point of reference, LeBron James and Kevin Durant recorded true shooting percentages of 48.8 and 51.9, respectively, as rookies.But it's the shift in his basic tactical approach that's transformed Wiggins into so much more than a bouncy long-range shooter.As ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss noted, Wiggins' new-founddesire to carve out space with determination off-the-dribble has added some scary new dimensions to his game: Prior to the New Year, Wiggins was attempting 39.4 percent of his total shots inside of eight feet. In the 14 games since, 49.8 percent of his attempts have come from close range.Taking aim at defenses in aggressive pursuit of easy buckets, Wiggins is knocking down 60.6 percent of his looks inside of eight feet since the start of 2015a 10 percent improvement from November and December.Prior to his philosophical epiphany, this is how Wiggins' shot chart shook out, courtesy of NBA.com:More than 45 percent of his total shots were coming from that dead zone. Consequently, he was attempting just 4.3 free throws per game during that span with fewer than 30 percent of his total shots coming in the restricted area.Now, the tide is starting to turn.Since Jan. 1, Wiggins' mid-range distribution has dropped byapproximately17 percent, with a six percent bump manifesting at the rim: And guess what' Wiggins is attempting 5.4 freebies thanks to those adjusted tendencies. That's hardly an elite number, but it's an unquestionably encouraging development.It's not just important that he's working his way below the free-throw line simply for the sake of taking high-percentage looks, either. It's important because he's tremendously efficient once he blows by a defender with his blinding speed, according to Synergy Sports Technology:NBA TV's Brent Barry recently broke down the positive impact Wiggins' patience is having on his overall production, specifically with regards to enhanced penetration:The next frontier for Wiggins will be parsing out how to most effectively attack defenders with his back to the basket. As Brett Koremenos explained over atSports on Earth, Wiggins' high volume of post-ups hasn't produced particularly encouraging results:According to Synergy Sports data, Wiggins ranks in the bottom third of the league in terms of efficiency out of post ups and iso's. And it doesn't get any better when you factor in his attempts to makes plays for his teammates out of these situations -- something that typically makes offenses as a whole function more efficiently.While Wiggins' plate is full trying to lift the Timberwolves out of murky offensive waters by his own bootstraps, he clearly possesses the physical tools to eventually thrive more regularly in isolated half-court situations.The No. 1 overall pick doesn't yet do a great job of creating separation when he pulls on turn-around jumpers, but he elevates so effortlessly with such a high release point and quick trigger that he can make enough hay for the time being.Throw in occasional step-throughs and the face-up jumpers off of quick dribbles that Wiggins has shown an affinity for, and his repertoire has expanded to a point that would have been hard to anticipate given his apparent limitations at Kansas. "Wiggins' transformation from hesitant prospect to burgeoning megastar is obvious,"Bleacher Report's Dan Favalewrote. On the verge of turning 20 years old, it's pretty mind-boggling that such statements can be expressed and confirmed with conviction.But in the end, all credit is due to Wiggins and a rapid individual reformation placing him on the fast track toward achieving superstar status.All statistics current as of Jan. 27 and courtesy ofNBA.comunless noted otherwise.
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