NBA champion Andrew Wiggins believes Vince Carter had the biggest impact on Canadian basketball, even greater than the 2019 Championship team
Andrew Wiggins has had quite the ride in his eight years in the NBA. Drafted as the #1 pick by the Cavaliers in 2014, Wiggins was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves even before the season started. Wiggins had a stellar rookie campaign, winning him Rookie of the Year honors.
Since then, he became the 6th youngest to reach the 6000-point milestone. Wiggins was a consistent player, but not someone a superstar. He could not lead a team in the playoffs and was often discredited for the same. In 2020, the Warriors were called out for trading for Wiggins.
However, Andrew Wiggins chose the 2021-22 season to shut up all haters. The Canadian forward earned his first All-Star honors and was a key part of the Championship roster. Recently he was on the Vince Carter show. There he talked to Carter about a lot, including his impact on Canadian Basketball.
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Andrew Wiggins means how important Vince Carter is to Canadian basketball
Wiggins, also known as Air Canada, grew up in Ontario before he joined high school in West Virginia. Just like any other kid in Canada, Wiggins was a huge Raptors fan too, with Vince Carter leading the team. VC played with the Raptors from 1998 to the 2004-05 season. During that time, Carter became a Canadian sensation, and was a household name all over the country.
Talking about his impact, Wiggins said,
“I already told you how big of a fan I was, and still am. For what you did for the game of basketball, for what you did for Canada. All the little kids — not even just kids — adults, everybody. You helped shape the game for Canada Basketball, so I appreciate you. I never got the chance to go to any games or stuff like that but just watching it, my whole family is big on basketball and (Vince) was like the savior for basketball in Canada.”
“Everywhere you go, you see kids with his jersey, you see kids trying to dunk like him, you might even see some kids that have a bald head because he had a bald head (Wiggins laughs). Like, that’s Vince! You don’t understand, bro. You don’t understand how impactful you were to the kids and everyone in Canada.”
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Even though Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Championship, Wiggins still believes Carter’s impact was much more significant. Growing up during peak Vinsanity, one can imagine why Wigs feels that way.