Top picks Wiggins, Parker to meet in NBA for 1st time Wednesday
Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker?
That question dominated the months leading up to the 2014 NBA Draft, with the Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately selecting Wiggins with the No. 1 pick, allowing Parker to fall to the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 2. Wiggins has since been dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the key piece of bait in the Kevin Love trade.
Through a month of the NBA season, Parker and Wiggins have posted similar statistics. Wiggins is a superior defender and is already proving why some thought he could eventually be an elite stopper, while Parker has scored more effectively and shown why his offensive game was thought to be more NBA-ready.
The top two picks will square off for the first time in NBA regular season action on Wednesday, with the Bucks visiting the Wolves at 8 p.m. They've met before, both in college and in Summer League action, but this will be the first of many NBA battles. One game is just one game, but at the very least, a dominant performance could provide one fanbase with early bragging rights.
But who has the edge so far this season? For a little help, we can turn to theScore mobile app's player comparison tool, which matches up Wiggins and Parker - or any two players you'd want to see - side by side. Have a look:
Wiggins has a slight scoring edge, but Parker has scored, rebounded and distributed with more efficiency. Wiggins has been better defensively, which is tough to measure in the statistics and because Parker plays for a much better defensive team. Forced to choose today, Parker would probably get the slight nod as Rookie of the Year.
The hope, obviously, is that Wiggins and Parker match up at some point on Wednesday, as they did at times when Kansas met Duke last season. Wiggins has split his time between the wing positions and very occasionally spotted in at the four, while Parker has played almost exclusively at small forward with short stints at power forward. So, there's a good chance they check each other for a few possessions.