Andrew Wiggins may have benefited from the most ambitious crossover event of all-time: the NBA and K-Pop.
The Golden State Warriors forward Wiggins was the surprise of the day on Thursday when he was announced as one of the five All-Star starters for the Western Conference this year. It was a stunning development, especially since Wiggins had never been made a single All-Star team before and is averaging a solid but definitely not spectacular 18-4-2 line this season.
Wiggins actually finished behind Utah center Rudy Gobert and Warriors teammate Draymond Green in both the media and player vote, which are weighted 25 percent each. But Wiggins earned the nod because he got far more of the fan vote, which is weighted 50 percent, than those two players.
Utah's Rudy Gobert & Golden State's Draymond Green both finished above Andrew Wiggins in the media & player votes for the West's third frontcourt starting spot, but missed out because Wiggins carried the fan vote. pic.twitter.com/L27a2uKJCC
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 28, 2022
So why did Wiggins get so many fan votes? Enter K-Pop star BamBam, who is a member of the popular boy band Got7. BamBam had been campaigning for Wiggins on social media, urging his 9.6 million Twitter followers and 15.5 million Instagram followers to vote Wiggins into the All-Star Game.
It’s the best time to begin 2022! He is one of the best two-way players!
Wiggs deserves to be an All-Star, vote Andrew Wiggins into the 2022 NBA All-Star Game..and I can’t wait to meet you all very soon#AndrewWiggins #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/bpOXKAJ920— BamBam❄️ (@BamBam1A) January 8, 2022
BamBam is a huge Warriors fan, but his push for Wiggins here was no coincidence. Alex Schultz of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that the Warriors organization actually hired BamBam to serve as their global ambassador in December. Global ambassador is the same title that superstar rapper Drake has with the Toronto Raptors for instance.
If you're wondering how Andrew Wiggins became an NBA All-Star, the answer genuinely might be a K-Pop star named BamBam, who the Warriors very strategically named their "global ambassador" last monthhttps://t.co/xbC7h7uy0F
— Alex Shultz (@AlexShultz) January 28, 2022
BamBam had posted tweets asking fans to vote other Warriors players into the All-Star Game as well like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. But Curry was a shoo-in for a starting spot, while Thompson was never going to make it after having missed most of the season up to this point. Where BamBam really appeared to have made an impact was with Wiggins, mobilizing for him the votes of K-Pop fans, who are known for their passionate fandom.
If you recall, Wiggins’ ability to play at all was in doubt before the season. Now he has gone from that to starting in this year’s All-Star Game, likely thanks to the efforts of an unlikely source in the K-Pop star BamBam.
Photo: February 23, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andrew Wiggins (22) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
