All-Star starter: Wiggins was selected for the first time
In his 8th year, Andrew Wiggins was named an All-Star for the first time and became a starter. Since 1966, a total of 40 all-Star shows have been made, and Wiggins is the first to be selected until the eighth year of his career.
When Wiggins walked into the Chase Center player aisle before the game today, his face was filled with a smile that could not be hidden, and his mouth was grinning to the back of his head. Warriors coach Steve Kerr called it one of his proudest moments since becoming manager.
Then in the Warriors' 124-115 victory over the Timberwolves, Wiggins shot 7-of-13, including 5-of-8 three-pointers to efficiently score 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, the plus-minus on the court was the highest +16 points in the game, and the performance was almost impeccable.
But at this very meaningful moment, social media is full of doubts, and many reporters and fans believe that Wiggins is not worthy of an All-Star starter. Wiggins' qualifications have been questioned by the whole network, in the end, is it unjust?
Wronged, and quite unjust.
Because there are 3 positions in the Western Conference frontcourt, LeBron James and Jokic have a huge lead, the gap from 3rd to 5th is very small, no matter who ends up in 3rd place, it will be controversial, but now Wiggins is in this position, and the gunfire is focused on him.
Combining voting, individual performance, historical cases, Wiggins' all-star starter results can not convince everyone, but the overall problem is not big.
There's nothing to shy away from, Wiggins was elected as an All-Star starter and did enjoy the dividends of multiple injuries in the Western Conference frontcourt. Paul George, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard are all plagued by injuries, either with low attendance or still not playing, and it is normal not to get votes.
Many reporters shouted "Wiggins is not worthy" on Twitter, but it is impossible to say who is more worthy of the All-Star starter, because in addition to James and Jokic in the Western Frontcourt, other players have reasons to become All-Star starters, but they have their own shortcomings, which is really "no general in Shu". Ultimately, the position was created between Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, and Wiggins.
In terms of statistics, Wiggins has averaged less than 20 points per game this season, which is not up to the standard of All-Star starters, after all, other starters are the core of their respective teams and rank at the top of the scoring list. But on the one hand, most people choose all-star starters, the first criterion to refer to is the score, and in Wiggins, Green, Gobert, the score is dominated by Wiggins. What's more, Wiggins's efficiency soared after cutting back on the ball attack scene this season, shooting 48.1% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range.
On the other hand, this is a season of Wiggins's reputation-changing, and this kind of metamorphosis drama is loved by fans. In the past, Wiggins was ridiculed as a "cancer" and labeled "inefficient" and "colander", but this season Wiggins has become an unselfish and efficient defensive gate. Wiggins kept his opponent's shooting percentage at 41.8 percent, while his opponent's shooting average for the season was 46 percent. Wiggins is the number one contributor to Curry's defensive pressure, as he has spent 56.4 percent of his time this season against his opponent's core defenders and has kept his opponent's shooting percentage at 35 percent. In terms of defending stars such as Morant and Garland, Wiggins has many highlight moments.
Wiggins fans voted more than 3.45 million to rank 3rd in the Western Conference frontcourt, while his player votes ranked 5th, media votes ranked 6th, and the overall score of 4.25 ranked 3rd. Green scored 4.75 points overall, with his player votes ranking 3rd and media voting in 4th place. Gobert ranked 6th with an overall rating of 6.25 points, and its fan votes only ranked 9th, but the player votes ranked 4th and the media votes ranked 3rd.
In other words, Wiggins ultimately won the fan vote. But can you question Wiggins because of that? It doesn't make sense.
Of the three, Wiggins' playing style is the most attractive to fans, and he can often stage wonderful dunks in the game. Fans clearly prefer Wiggins' style of play to Green's arc-top serve, cover, and Gobert's iron-blooded defense, blocking and shoving dunks, and are willing to vote for him.
The point is, who let Wiggins find thai entertainer Bam Bam to help him canvass tickets, BamBam is now developing in South Korea, Twitter account has nearly 10 million followers, Instagram has 15 million fans, he helped Wiggins canvass tickets very well. Green and Gobert themselves can't get tickets, who can blame them?
Speaking of canvassing, it is interesting: Devon Booker's girlfriend Jenna Twitter has 39.5 million fans, and as a celebrity, she has also publicly helped Bukra votes, and as a result, Booker only got more than 1 million votes. It's true that the Suns have a league-first record and no one makes it to start, but Chris Paul and Booker can only blame themselves for not getting tickets, and they can't compete with Stephen Curry, Morant and even Doncic. The media can complain about them, but they can't blame Wiggins, who is divided into frontcourts.
At the end of the day, Wiggins plays for the Warriors, backed by the big market of San Francisco, coupled with the team's excellent record and eye-catching individual play, fans are willing to vote for him, which is within the rules. And in recent years, the league has cut the proportion of fans in the vote, giving the media and players a 25% weight each, trying to plug loopholes. Why would Wiggins have to endure questions for no reason?
A number of reporters revealed that they voted for the media vote to Gobert, and from the vote count, Gobert got 65 media votes, second only to James and Jokic. However, the double standard of the media is questionable. Don't compare him to Wiggins, just Gobert and Green. Gobert is favored by the media because of defense, but which team is no. 1 in the league in defensive efficiency this season? Who is the biggest favorite for the Best Defensive Player Award? It was the Warriors and the injured former Green. Even if you want to choose a defensive cornerstone player to start, you should choose Green instead of Gobert. In the media vote, the preference of 65 journalists for Gobert is puzzling.
Considering the issue of position, although the All-Star vote is only divided into front court and backcourt, I am afraid that not many fans want to see James or Durant put two centers on the court, right?
After Wiggins was selected, many people were analyzing whether Wiggins was the most watery starter in All-Star history. This is even more so. In the history of the All-Star, it is not without precedent that the best role players with less eye-catching data rely on the size of the team market and the team's record to be selected as the starting player.
In 1990, Lakers player A.C Green was named a Western Conference All-Star starter, when Green was a forward, and in the voting he was second only to teammate James Worthy, outperforming Carl Malone, Chris Mullin and other stars. That season, Green averaged just 12.9 points per game, and he was only the team's fourth scorer with 63 wins for the Lakers.
In 1994, Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong was named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter. That season, Michael Jordan did not play because of his retirement, but the Bulls still maintained a good competitiveness to win 55. In the vote, Armstrong turned out to be no. 1 in the Eastern Conference backcourt, and he averaged only 14.8 points and 3.9 assists per game. That year, Mark Price and John Stax, who were far better than Armstrong, could only substitute him.
Considering various factors, you will find that Wiggins' selection of an All-Star starter does not seem to be too much of a problem, there must be a reason for it, and there must be a precedent for precedent. Wiggins did not become "Maple Leaf Jordan", as the outside world imagined to be selected as the number one core of the team, but the selection as an "All-Star of role players" is also a success.