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After signing with the Miami Heat in 2019, Jimmy Butler told team president Pat Riley that Andrew Wiggins was the most talented player he ever played with.
That detail was revealed amid Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN’s breakdown of the split between the Heat and Butler, who was traded on Wednesday to the Golden State Warriors.
Five-and-a-half years after that remark, Wiggins was moved from Golden State to Miami in a five-team deal that brought Butler to the Heat.
Wiggins was a highly touted prospect who starred at Kansas before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
While he hasn’t had a career filled with a host of individual accolades, he’s done quite well for himself, averaging 18.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG per game over 11 seasons. Wiggins won Rookie of the Year and started the 2022 All-Star Game. Later in the 2021-22 season, Wiggins helped guide the Warriors to an NBA title, posting 16.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG in the playoffs.
The 29-year-old spent his first five-plus seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was teammates with Butler for 69 games over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. So Butler didn’t play much with him, but Wiggins clearly left an indelible impression, enough for the then eight-year veteran to offer lofty praise to Riley.
The two will notably face off against each other on March 25, when the Warriors visit the Heat.
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