Andrew Wiggins Slams ESPN's Top 100 Rankings: 'Not 100 Players Better Than Me'

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins scoffed at being left off ESPN's top 100 NBA players list Thursday, saying "it doesn't matter what people think."

"I don't really look at that too much, top 100 or not top 100," Wiggins told ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "There's not 100 players better than me, so it doesn't matter what people think. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My job is to come out here and hoop, and that's what I'm going to do."

Wiggins, 24, is coming off perhaps the most disappointing season of his career. He averaged 18.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on a career-low 41.2 percent shooting, again failing to progress in the way the Wolves hoped.

Minnesota was embroiled in controversy at this time a year ago, with Jimmy Butler demanding a trade—in part because of displeasure with Wiggins' $147.7 million max contract. Butler, like many fans, questioned Wiggins' effort—a criticism that did not die down as the 2014 No. 1 overall pick struggled. Wiggins said he's in a much happier place than a year ago.

"I would say I enjoy it more than I did last year because last year was a rough start," Wiggins said. "The joy has always been there. I've never been on the court and not wanted to play."

The Wolves are going to need Wiggins to step up if they have any chance of cracking the Western Conference playoffs. Butler is long gone, first to Philadelphia then to Miami, and what's left is a core featuring Karl-Anthony Towns, Robert Covington and no other player in ESPN's top 100. Towns is the only player on the roster who cracked the top 90.

There were rumors about Wiggins potentially being traded this summer, but those proved fruitless—thanks in large part to that max contract. If Wiggins doesn't crack the top 100 a year from now, the overwhelming odds are he won't be in a Timberwolves uniform come next October.