Aaron Wiggins Boost off Bench Aids in Thunder Victory

One of OKC's bench guards excelled efficiently in scoring the ball.

Oct 24, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Dario Saric (9) defends on Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Aaron Wiggins had an excellent offseason and preseason and against the Denver Nuggets in its season opener, he posted an efficient performance that helped push the Thunder to a game one victory.

Wiggins finished the matchup with 15 points and six rebounds, doing it all on 7-for-9 shooting. He added one assist, two steals and a turnover to that statline as well.

The efficient manner in which he posted those 15 points makes his performance much more impressive. Only one of those misses came on the perimeter, the other in the paint area. His shot selection was excellent all game and blended a mix of open shots alongside isolation buckets.

His one make from the perimeter was in a one-on-one situation, where he made a dribble move and created separation. His jump shot looked silky-smooth and even on his one miss, looked like it was going in.

His ability to get to his spots in different areas of the court was a main contributor to his 15-point performance. His body control and moves in the paint also seemed like an improvement from years prior. Offensively, Wiggins looks like a premier bench piece.

If Wiggins can be efficient scoring the ball off the bench, his role will continue to grow. He plays a similar style of basketball to starting forward Jalen Williams, which makes it a challenge to start the two of them, but Wiggins appears ready to get increased minutes.

Even outside of his scoring in game one, his rebounding was also a separator. He grabbed six of them, all on the defensive end. That aided in OKC's rebounding performance that did not top the Nuggets, but Wiggins still remained the third-leading rebounder on the team.

He handled his matchups well and recorded two blocks on the defensive side of the ball. This was anothe facet of his high-end performance and is another reason to leave him on the court for extended minutes. He was hard to leave off the court against Denver and earned every single minute he played.

It's only one game of the season and there are still 81 more to be played, but everything Wiggins put on display against Denver on night one was more impressive than could be imagined. His role is now defined as a multi-level bench scorer with contributions as a rebounder and isolation defender. If he can continue to show these flashes, playing him more might become inevitable.

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