A second chance at the NBA, through a son

Andrew Wiggins is just 15 years old, and by all reports an amazing and gifted basketball player in the mold of his favorite player, Kevin Durant. (YouTube has plenty of evidence.)

It's way too early to worry about the NBA. But it's something he says he thinks about, and talks to his parents about, all the time.

His parents have some perspective on elite athletics: His mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins, won two Olympic silver medals sprinting for Canada.

His dad is former Rocket guard Mitchell Wiggins, who did amazing things like hit game-winners over Larry Bird in the Finals, and is much beloved for inspiring many in his post-playing days. But Mitchell Wiggins is best known for having lost the best years of his career to a cocaine suspension.

Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail writes:

His father certainly has some stories to tell; like scoring the winning basket in an NBA Finals game against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. If he wants some tips on post play he can tell his son how Hakeem Olajuwon, his old Houston Rockets teammate, used to do it. What was Michael Jordan like, or Dominique Wilkins? Dad grew up playing against both of them as a teenager in North Carolina before starring at Florida State where he met Marita who was there on a track scholarship.

The son sounds well grounded, noting with a smile that for all the hype and the viral YouTube videos he’s still just the fourth best player in his family, behind dad and his older brothers Mitchell Jr. and Nick, both of whom are playing in the U.S. college ranks.

But the best lesson a father can pass on to his son might be what not to do, with a first-hand account of where straying from the straight-and-narrow can lead.

In 1987 Mitch Wiggins was suspended from the NBA after testing positive for cocaine just as it was taking off with the Houston Rockets on a team some consider the best collection of talent to have never won an NBA title. He was reinstated after 30 months, but his addiction cost him the best years of his career.

“He tells me don’t make dumb mistakes; don’t do something stupid,” Andrew says. “Just focus on the books, play basketball and you’ll go far in life.”

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/22475/a-second-chance-at-the-nba-through-a-son

Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs