Andrew Wiggins felt like home in the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario. Wiggins is a native of Toronto and this All-Star weekend is an opportunity for his close family and friends to come watch him play in the Rising Stars Challenge.
Wiggins has been a known star for basketball in Toronto since the age of 14. He has dominated the game in this area before heading to the Kansas Jayhawks. Fans in Toronto refer to Wiggins as the “Maple Jordan” and hope he one day comes home to play for the Toronto Raptors.
Wiggins stated his excitement to be able to play in front of his home city on a prestigious stage. “It felt great,” Wiggins said. “I got to play in front of a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time. My family, friends got to watch it. It was great being back home and playing in front of my hometown.”
Wiggins always expresses his love for his current city of Minnesota, but is not going to shy away from praise for his hometown. The crowd roared for Wiggins as they introduced the starting lineups and there were chants throughout the game of “M-V-P! M-V-P!”
Wiggins teammate Zach LaVine saw the love for his teammate throughout the game. “He’s a rock star in his hometown,” stated LaVine.
Wiggins is not close to free agency and is not available through trade, but the rumors could rise as this time approaches. Wiggins in Toronto is similar to LeBron in Cleveland.
Wiggins is improving at a fast pace and the Timberwolves have a young and rising core with Karl-Anthony Towns and LaVine. If Wiggins has the opportunity to go home to the Raptors, it will be hard for him to not highly consider this opportunity in the future.
