Lindell Wigginton reflects on his NBA success and the late brother who helps fuel it
'That was my best friend, so that's who I do it for,' Wigginton says of his brother, Fern
When Lindell Wigginton phoned his mother recently to tell her he was signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, she somehow already knew.
"She was already crying and stuff and it made me cry a little bit," the 23-year-old North Preston, N.S., native told CBC's Information Morning.
There were many reasons for the tears.
One was that Wigginton didn't take a direct path to the NBA. He left college basketball two years early in 2019 to go pro, but went undrafted and bounced around different leagues before signing with the Bucks.
The tears were also for Wigginton's brother, Tyson James Bundy — known to family and friends as Fern. He died in a car crash a decade ago at the age of 19.
"He's always in my thoughts," said Wigginton. "I think about him every day. That was my best friend, so that's who I do it for."
The bio portion of Wigginton's Twitter and Instagram accounts have the same description: R.I.P FERN I do this for you.
In Wigginton's first game with the Bucks on Jan. 13, he scored on his first shot and played five minutes.
Since then, he's earned more playing time, culminating in a personal-high 28 minutes on the floor against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 15. He scored 12 points in the game.
As a member of the defending NBA champions, Wigginton plays alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, considered by many to be the league's best player.
Seeing how Antetokounmpo works inspires Wigginton and reinforces what it will take for him to succeed at this level.
"It takes hard work to get here, but it takes even more work to stay here," said Wigginton.
In reaching the NBA, Wigginton hopes to inspire other Nova Scotians who have hoop dreams.
"I know what they're going through back there and it's definitely tough growing up from where I'm from," said Wigginton whose upbringing included time in North Preston and Uniacke Square.
"I didn't have hope when I was growing up there because I didn't see nobody else that really did it on this big stage."
While Wigginton is the first Black Nova Scotian to play in the NBA, he's not the first Nova Scotian.
Last March, Nate Darling from Bedford, N.S., suited up for the Charlotte Hornets.
It's been six weeks since Wigginton got the call that changed his life. He was in New York at the time as his Wisconsin Herd — the Bucks' G-League affiliate — were in town to play the Long Island Nets.
Wigginton's agent phoned and said he had someone on the line who wanted to speak with him: Jon Horst, the Bucks' general manager.
"I was definitely emotional, being I worked this hard my whole life for this opportunity and I'm so grateful for this opportunity," said Wigginton.
He returned to Milwaukee and went to the airport around 3 a.m. local time so he could join his new team on the road. When Wigginton arrived in California, he signed his contract and then participated in a shootaround with the team. After that, Wigginton broke the news to his mom.
Running on an hour's worth of sleep, Wigginton soldiered on through the day.
We're just here to show <a href="https://twitter.com/Lwigginton5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lwigginton5</a> some love. 💚 <a href="https://t.co/XKVw1PbJHc">pic.twitter.com/XKVw1PbJHc</a>
—@Bucks"I couldn't really get no rest after the shootaround because I was so excited," he said.
Wigginton suited up that night against the Golden State Warriors and scored once in the 118-99 win.
Wigginton said he appreciates the support he's getting from Nova Scotians and while he can't respond to everybody, he's said he's thinking of them.
"Without them, I couldn't be in this position," he said.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
MORE TOP STORIES
With files from the CBC's Information Morning