Aaron Wiggins' Increased Shooting Frequency Paying Dividends

Aaron Wiggins' newly handed, heightened responsibility has boded well thus far for Oklahoma City.

Nov 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) shoots as Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) defends during the first half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

It's been called upon time and time again how Aaron Wiggins makes momentum shifting and high I.Q. plays in his respective role for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He's a Swiss Army Knife, and he's shown that since his rookie season coming out of Maryland in 2021. A second-round draft pick, Wiggins displayed high promise in his rookie season for a rebuilding Thunder team---posting a 50-game season, 35 of those being starts, playing 24.2 minutes a night and anchoring Oklahoma City with a helpful 8.3 points on average.

Up until the 2024-25 season, Wiggins had not reached that level of play time as the Thunder's guard depth grew. But as the team's strength deeper into the roster continued to solidify, so did Wiggins' skill set and his ability to adapt in the NBA. Now into his fourth season in the association, the 25-year old has crafted a niche within the Thunder system as a versatile guard who can get it done on both ends of the floor and certainly in transition. The Oklahoma City brand of basketball currently thrives upon versatility and range, so it complements this team wonderfully.

Wiggins has appeared in the starting lineup in eight of his 19 games thus far this season, doing much more in 20.8 minutes a night as a fourth-year player compared to the increased minutes in his rookie season, naturally. 9.2 points and 1.5 threes a night, along with improvements in the rebounding and assist category has seen Wiggins with some very impactful on-court time, getting off a career-high field goal attempts this season.

His field goal percentage has dropped quite a bit compared to a season ago, from 56.2 to 44.7%, but he's shooting nearly double the attempts from the field---increasing shot frequency from 5.8 shot attempts to 8.0, as well as shooting 2 more threes to help comprise his career-high point average this season.

Wiggins has proved himself to this team and he's being given the opportunity to break out and excel. He's doing a fine job in his role thus far this season, and the Thunder will ask for much more out of him as the stakes rise later into the season.

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