Race to the bottom: The Andrew Wiggins tankfest

And the clouds parted to reveal a light from the heavens and from the light emerged the next basketball saviour. Clad in a Kansas jersey and boasting of Canadian pride, he would be destined to become the tonic to instantly rejuvenate any NBA franchise, and eventually, help reshape the whole league.

Kansas small forward Andrew Wiggins during photo shoot at Allen Fieldhouse.
Lawrence, KS. (Getty Images)

That saviour is college freshman Andrew Wiggins, who will join the NBA next season as perhaps the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James. Wiggins has it all: a 6’8” small forward with a large wingspan, elite athleticism, the ability to score in bunches and in a variety of ways, consistent perimeter shooting, unselfishness when required on the offensive end and the potential to develop his physical skills to become an elite defender. Add his relatively low-profile character to the mix and he will be a sure-fire superstar in the NBA.

Players like Wiggins don’t show up in the draft every year (look back at the 2013 draft for further reference). So when they do, anyone and everyone who is within shouting distance of the Wiggins’ sweepstakes will fight it out to win the rights to draft his talents. And this fight – like every fight for NBA’s number one draft pick – will be one for the biggest (and lucky) loser.

Through the course of the season, most fans will concern themselves with the number one spot, the team that finally finishes at top when the season is over. The best teams will be in the running: Champions Miami Heat, runners-up San Antonio Spurs, and other challengers like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Indiana Pacers.

While the league’s best fight it out at the top, there will be an equal-and-opposite dog-fight in the bottom. The worst teams will have the best odds to get a high pick in next year’s draft. And thus, improve their chances of calling out Wiggins’ name first in the 2014 draft.

Canadian basketball phenomenon Andrew Wiggins rising high for a dunk at McMaster University in Hamilton. (Getty Images)

Sometime similar happened in the summer of 2012, when Kentucky big man Anthony Davis was available and touted to be the undoubted number one. At the tail end of the NBA’s annual race, a half-dozen teams ‘battled’ it out for the worst spots, and eventually, the lottery fell to the way of the New Orleans Hornets-turned-Pelicans to make the 2012 top pick. Judging by Davis’ steady development and his potential to become a franchise centrepiece, the last-place victory was worth it.

Just like 2012 – when Davis was followed by an impressive group of other young prospects – the 2014 Draft promises to be dripping with talent. Any team to get a pick anywhere in the top seven will be happy.

Kentucky’s Julius Randle, Australian guard Dante Exum, Arizona freshman Aaron Gordon, the phenomenal Jabari Parker, the Harrison twins, Marcus Smart and a few more have future-All-Star potential written all over them.

But unless there’s an unexpected injury (word to Nerlens Noel) or someone like Randle, Parker or Exum has a mind-blowing season, Wiggins will be the driving force of this season’s tankfest.

It may be a good time to buy into the bandwagon stocks of a struggling team: one of them is going to find a huge pot of gold next summer. Here are the NBA’s worst in contention for the number one pick in 2014: