Minutes after the Timberwolves season ended in a Game 5 loss to Houston in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, Andrew Wiggins started to reflect.

In his final performance of the season, a 122-104 loss in Houston, Wiggins tallied 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting, committed two turnovers and had not a single assist.

“I kept losing the ball a lot,” Wiggins said. “Just got to take it into the summer and use it as motivation.”

That was a common postgame sentiment from the 23-year-old wing who was underwhelming at various points throughout his fourth NBA campaign. His scoring (17.7 points per game) took a serious dip after consecutive seasons averaging 20-plus points. Part of that can be chalked up to the arrival of Jimmy Butler — a move that pushed Wiggins out of the role of the top scoring option — but his field goal percentage (43.8), free-throw attempts (3.8) and free-throw percentage (64.3) also dropped significantly.

Tom Thibodeau, the Wolves coach and president of basketball operations, thought “overall” Wiggins had a better season in terms of his defensive gains and all-around contributions — and there were flashes of improvement at various points during the season — but advanced stats suggest this might have been Wiggins’ worst season to date.

There are many advanced numbers used to indicate a player’s overall value, none of which say Wiggins played well this season. He posted the worst player efficiency rating (13) of his career, tied for his worst win share total (2.1), second worst value over replacement player (-0.4), second worst box plus-minus (-2.5) and second worst ESPN real plus-minus (-1.62).

Put simply, it wasn’t an efficient season. It certainly wasn’t the type of jump the Wolves had hoped to see out of Wiggins, who signed a five-year, $146 million extension last fall that will kick in next season.

“I didn’t have the best season,” Wiggins admitted. “Learned a lot, but I don’t think I had the best season. It’s motivation for the summer.”

Thibodeau noted this summer “won’t be clouded” for Wiggins. Last offseason featured his highly-publicized contract negotiations with the Wolves. Thibodeau said that “probably took something away from him. You’re not going to be approaching things maybe the same way. So this summer will be great.”

Thibodeau said Wiggins “did a lot of good things” in the playoffs. His intensity early in the series against the Rockets was notable, though he struggled to make an impact in Games 4 and 5.

“I think we saw down the stretch him playing a more complete game,” Thibodeau said. “I think he can build off that.”

The Wolves hope the intensity and physicality of playoff basketball was an eye opener for Wiggins, and lit a fire that will spark his improvement.

Wiggins is confident his game “can go up” from here, noting the adjustments everyone had to make to fit in with the Wolves’ revamped roster this season.

“I know next year will be better,” he said.