4. Andrew Wiggins (2014):
As much as any year in recent memory, the 2013-2014 season was one of the most blatant instances of NBA teams trying to tank the entire year to put themselves in position to draft one particular player in the upcoming NBA Draft — the University of Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was so highly thought of that when LeBron James returned to Cleveland, and forced the franchise to trade away the #1 overall pick in the draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to acquire Kevin Love, many wondered if that was a mistake, with Wiggins’ potentially becoming a better running-mate for James than Love.
Wiggins combination of athletic abilities, lateral quickness, and overall basketball skills had some calling him anything from “a better Vince Carter” to “a next-generation version of Scottie Pippen,” but the question of whether he had the heart and “fire” to truly maximize his combination of gifts was very prevalent from day one.