Andrew Wiggins rooting for Spain at Rio 2016
The Canadian men's basketball team had one last shot at an Olympic berth earlier this month, but they blew it, losing to France in the qualifying final.
One of Canada's top talents, Andrew Wiggins, could've played, but opted against it so he could focus on improving for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With the Canucks out of the picture in Rio, Wiggins is pulling for his T-Wolves teammate Ricky Rubio and the Spanish squad to take home gold.
"I want to see Spain get it just because I have a teammate on there. It'd be awesome to see Spain win it," the 21-year-old told Dime Magazine.
He also expanded on what exactly it is he's been working on that kept him from representing his country.
"I've been working hard trying to perfect everything," the former first overall pick said before singling out three-point shooting, ball-handling, breaking down defenders, and attacking the rim with more versatility. Honing those skills, he maintained, will help him continue to propel the Timberwolves forward.
Wiggins asserted that new head coach Tom Thibodeau will "bring out the best" in him, and echoed teammate Karl-Anthony Towns' sentiments about Minnesota being on the cusp of success.
"We're getting stronger. We're getting older. We're getting more experienced. And we're building chemistry. We're just getting better every game. We have a lot of things to accomplish this coming year. We're all looking forward to it, and our expectations are getting higher. We want more. We're young, and hungry, and we want to see the playoffs," Wiggins added.
Related: Towns says, 'Things are about to change' for Timberwolves