Market Bias Gets Andrew Wiggins NBA ASG Starter Nod Over Karl-Anthony Towns
Tonight on TNT, the NBA All-Star rosters are being announced and there’s one selection that’s receiving a lot more heat that others, and for good reason. Andrew Wiggins, who is scoring and rebounding at rates lower than his career average, was selected as a FRONT court STARTER for the Western Conference.
The 2022 Western Conference #NBAAllStar Starters:
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 28, 2022
???? LeBron James
???? Nikola Jokic
Andrew Wiggins
???? Steph Curry
???? Ja Morant
Wiggins is averaging, make sure you’re sitting down for this, 18.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. His career averages are 19.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 2.3 APG. Sure, most of his efficiency metrics are up, but an increase in efficiency doesn’t constitute a starter role when, in past years, he couldn’t even find his way onto the roster.
Towns >>> Wiggins
Who should’ve been selected ahead of him? Well, since we’re talking FRONT court players, why look any further than his former teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns. Back in Minnesota, KAT is posting numbers that dwarf Wiggins’ while leading a Minnesota Timberwolves team that’s a strong candidate for a top-6 playoff seed come April.
Let’s compare the numbers, shall we?
Player | PPG | RPG | APG | 2P% | 3P% | eFG% | ORtg | DRtg | PER | TS% |
Wiggins | 18.1 | 4.2 | 2.0 | .529 | .404 | .558 | 111 | 106 | 16.2 | .578 |
Towns | 24.1 | 9.4 | 3.6 | .568 | .410 | .583 | 117 | 108 | 23.2 | .629 |
There’s simply ZERO logical explanation to explain why Andrew Wiggins would be named as a front court starter in this year’s All-Star game and KAT wasn’t. The only non-logical explanation is based on geography. Wiggins moved on from fly-over country Minnesota and now plays on the West Coast with Steph Curry for the Golden State Warriors.
Because of that, Wiggins has been able to change who the outside world thinks he is as a basketball player. He plays for the Warriors now and that has allowed him to get on national TV more often and has allowed him plenty of puff pieces about how he has turned his career around, thanks to the help of big market loving NBA media.
Big Market Bias
Meanwhile, KAT has reiterated his love for Minnesota and continues to revel in a future that includes a lot of winter jackets and frozen fingers if he doesn’t pack gloves. Because of that, he stays off the national media’s radar and off nationally televised broadcasts.
Karl-Anthony Towns is getting shit on because he’s dedicated to playing hard and trying to turn a culture that’s lived at the bottom of the NBA for two decades. Wiggins got a starting All-Star nod tonight because Steph Curry and Steve Kerr convinced him to play defense and stop taking long step-back two’s.
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan
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