Reason to Love Toronto: because the Next LeBron James is from Thornhill

Reason to Love Toronto: because the Next LeBron James is from Thornhill

Reason to Love Toronto: because the Next LeBron James is from Thornhill
(Image: Ned Dishman/Getty Images)

When 17-year-old Andrew Wiggins leapt into the air and reared back a tomahawk dunk this past summer at the prestigious LeBron James Skills Academy, even James himself jumped out of his seat in awe. Wiggins, the son of an ex–NBA player father and an Olympic track medalist mother, started his ascent at Vaughan Secondary School, where he led the Voyageurs to a provincial championship in 2011. Today, he’s considered the best high school player in the world and is expected to be a top NBA draft pick as early as 2014. At six-foot-seven, Wiggins blocks and rebounds, shoots three-pointers with ease and explodes to the hoop with a nearly four-foot vertical leap—the kind of all-around skills that draw comparisons to LeBron James. Wiggins is spending his last year of high school at a top prep academy in West Virginia, and big colleges are salivating at the chance to recruit him. Canada has long been an afterthought when it comes to high-level basketball, but that’s about to change, thanks to an abundance of talented Toronto-based ballers. Wiggins is by far the best.