Latest news with #AaronWiggins
USA Today
08-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2024-25 Thunder player grades: Aaron Wiggins
The calendar has flipped to August, which means we've officially hit the low point of the NBA cycle. The next couple of months are the driest part of the year. Everybody has headed to vacation and awaits training camp to kick off the 2025-26 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign that eventually led to the franchise's first title with a 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 win. They'll enter next season as a favorite to be a rare repeat winner. To reflect on their title run, Thunder Wire will conduct 2024-25 season grades for all 19 players who suited up for the squad at one point during the year. Eighth up is Aaron Wiggins, who had a career season off the bench: 2024-25 statistics: Advanced stats: Significant Percentile Finishes: Contract: Thoughts: Being the talk of training camp, a lot was made about Wiggins. The Thunder begged him to do more. They saw his efficiency stats since his arrival and believed he could handle a larger workload. Boy, they were right. The 26-year-old joined the long list of OKC role players who had a career season last year. After dealing with an inconsistent role his first three seasons, Wiggins blossomed into a microwave scorer. He had career highs across the board. It was the first time he's averaged double-digit points. It was the most minutes he's averaged since his rookie season. Despite a historic season, the Thunder still had some roster flaws they had to work through. One being a lack of a bench ball-handler. Wiggins helped mitigate that problem. There were times you could argue he was OKC's third-best go-to scorer behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. He can create his own buckets. His drives to the baskets resulted in fancy finishes through defenses. The outside shot was also a friend to Wiggins. He could catch fire in a hurry. He was one of the Thunder's better catch-and-shoot options. He also showed he didn't need to be set up by shooting off the dribble. After averaging less than two 3-pointers the last two seasons, he exploded for nearly five attempts a game this season. Exactly what OKC hoped for. While the numbers dipped in the playoffs, that comes with the territory. Wiggins' production might've been slashed in half, but he remained in the Thunder's rotation. He had his moments throughout the postseason as somebody who scored a big bucket when OKC's offense dried up. All those points were valuable in the close wins he helped them get. When Wiggins got into a groove, he was unstoppable. He had zero 30-plus point games in his first three seasons. He had three this year alone. That includes a career-high 41 points. There are some nights when he looks closer to an All-Star than a role player. That's how much he's developed into a shot-maker. Moving Forward: This sounds cliche, but keep doing what you're doing. Winning an NBA championship requires that several players on the roster have career seasons. Wiggins was one of those players for the Thunder. He was one of their top bench players and started in 26 of his 76 games. Consistency and durability are two factors teams love. Wiggins has nailed both. You know what you get out of him most nights. Juggling through injuries, the 26-year-old was always reliably there. Knock on wood, but those two variables have made him a valuable rotation member. It's been quite the journey for Wiggins. He went from a forgettable 2021 No. 55 pick to being the last player left in OKC from his draft class. Most players in his draft range fizzle out of the NBA in a couple of years. Instead, the 26-year-old has been one of their better developmental stories in franchise history. Expect Wiggins to have a similar role and production next season. He's always been a reliable outside shooter and has leaped to a new level with his on-ball creation. His savvy off-ball movement also makes him a weapon in the halfcourt with timely cuts to the basket. The defense may be questionable, but the Thunder can afford a couple of below-average defenders, especially in the regular season when you can hide them. The Thunder signed Wiggins to a team-friendly contract last offseason. They've already received their money's worth with what he did last season. He's always been one of the more underappreciated guys on their recent rebuild. He's quietly developed in the background and has now cemented his spot in the NBA. Final Grade: A-plus
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thunder's Alex Caruso gushes over Aaron Wiggins' mic drop moment before parade
The post Thunder's Alex Caruso gushes over Aaron Wiggins' mic drop moment before parade appeared first on ClutchPoints. OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso says Aaron Wiggins stole the show before Tuesday's championship celebration parade. Wiggins' speech kicked off the Thunder's celebratory festivities at the Paycom Center before the start of the parade. In a special send off for season ticket holders, team and front office's friends and family, Aaron's speech was one of Caruso's favorite moments of the day. Advertisement Caruso's face lit up when he asked which moments stood out the most from his first championship parade and he remembered Caruso's kick-off speech. 'Aaron Wiggins' speech to start it off. Man, Wiggs killed the speech,' Caruso told ClutchPoints. 'That was probably the best moment from the parade besides the actual going around, seeing the fans.' Did you see that coming from Wiggins? 'No, nobody did,' Caruso replied. 'We tried to shut it down after he finished, and they said, 'No, we have a program.' We still had to talk to people. But he dropped the mic.' Then, came time for the parade as Aaron Wiggins, Caruson and the rest of the Thunder players loaded onto the buses to celebrate with their fans down a two mile route in downtown Oklahoma City. Advertisement 'Just an overwhelming turnout. There were 10 to 20 people deep, if not more, on every corner, every turn,' Caruso said about Tuesday's Thunder parade. 'From the starting line to Scissortail Park, where there was probably like a couple hundred thousand probably packed in there. Just overwhelming support, and it was loud. I didn't know how loud it's going to be because we're outside, right? 'There's no like acoustics to kind of trap all the noise. But it felt loud, and it was a lot of fun. A lot of great energy,' Caruso concluded. Alex Caruso's blunt take, differentiating Lakers' title vs Thunder's Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Thunder veteran Alex Caruso reflected on his two championships. Pinpointing the differences between the two teams, Caruso addressed the vast differences between the two teams. Advertisement 'The biggest difference between those two championships, for me, is probably just where I'm at in my career,' Caruso told ClutchPoints. 'I think the first one, I was surrounded by Hall of Fame players with pedigree, and I was learning, you know? I was trying to figure it out. I think this time — around five, six years later — I knew the answers to the test. So, I was trying to give those out. Help the other guys. Be there for the first time.' This time, it was Caruso's voice guiding the inexperienced to their first championship of their careers.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thunder's Aaron Wiggins drops mic on haters with epic championship rally speech
The post Thunder's Aaron Wiggins drops mic on haters with epic championship rally speech appeared first on ClutchPoints. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins energized fans at the team's NBA championship rally. Wiggins proudly defended his team and franchise, after the club won the title. Advertisement 'It was a point where they tried to call us 'the blackhole of the NBA.' Boo! But 4 years later, when they mention the [OKC] Thunder organization… they gotta mention you as NBA champs!' Wiggins said. Wiggins went on to clarify his comments later, when speaking with reporters. He said he meant to say 'black eye,' instead of black hole. Absolutely no one is making fun or taking shots at the Thunder now. Oklahoma City are NBA champions for the very first time in that city, after playing there for nearly two decades. The Thunder previously won a title when they were known as the Supersonics, in Seattle. Advertisement Oklahoma City defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games to clinch the championship. The Thunder were led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who got lots of love and flowers from fans at the team's championship parade. Aaron Wiggins had a great run in the NBA Finals Wiggins proved himself to be a solid role player this season. He averaged 12 points per game this campaign for the club. He came up big in the NBA Finals, as he scored in double figures twice during the seven game series. The guard's best performance in the NBA Finals against Indiana was in Game 2. In that contest, he scored 18 points off of 6-for-11 shooting from the floor. His numbers quieted down somewhat in the last few contests, but Wiggins proved himself this season to be a hustle player filled with heart and toughness. Advertisement Wiggins has played for the Thunder since 2021. He was selected in the second round of that year's NBA Draft. Oklahoma City selected him, after he had played his college basketball at Maryland. The Thunder's road to another title begins on Wednesday, as the team has the 15th overall selection in the NBA Draft in Brooklyn. Related: Thunder's Jalen Williams 'feeling loose' at parade after viral 'Shirley Temples' comment Related: Thunder news: OKC mayor crowns Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder 'threw enough punches' to tie up NBA Finals vs Pacers
This lead was safe. Safe from the dread that comes with entering a game's final minutes opposite of Indiana. In the urgent hands of the version of the Thunder that has so often given teams wedgies and stuffed them in lockers before the fourth quarter even arrives. Advertisement With just under four minutes remaining in its 123-107 Game 2 win to even up the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City received Johnny Furphy's blessing to close the game without fear of leaving disheveled. One game was all it took for OKC to understand the trip wire that playing ahead of these Pacers can be. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat with that for at least 24 hours. He rinsed out the bitterness of Indiana's Game 1 robbery, but the exigency required stuck. 'You can't just throw the first punch,' he said. 'You got to try to throw all the punches all night. Yeah, that's what we did. We threw enough punches tonight to get a W.' The Pacers don't know a knockout punch. Entering this series, they'd yet to meet a Sonny Liston or a Mike Tyson, a foe that could make them hug hardwood and stay there. Consider the Thunder's second quarter the closest thing — more like a long-reaching, persistent jab than an uppercut. Advertisement Pre-order new book on Thunder's run to NBA Finals MUSSATTO: Aaron Wiggins, the man who saved basketball, saved Thunder in NBA Finals Game 2 Thunder buries Pacers with 35-9 avalanche in NBA Finals Game 2 Between the end of the first quarter and deep into the second, the Thunder embarked on a 35-9 run. The kind of stint that's defined its season and ended others. This one didn't depend on turnovers or points off them. This was grinded out in the halfcourt, with stops and offensive rhythm even the Pacers couldn't match. Peep all the variables involved in the Thunder's dominant period: Aaron Wiggins danced with the ball, spinning off defenders and watching them stumble over his stepbacks, en route to eight of his 18 points. Jalen Williams did a George Gervin impression, and he was reunited with the mid-range jumpers that betrayed him a game ago. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who had just five points in the three quarters of consequence, attempted just one shot in his seven second-quarter minutes. Cason Wallace and Kenrich Williams, despite scoring zero points combined then, were a plus-25 in the quarter. Mike Breen appropriately punctuated the run, resulting in a 23-point OKC lead, by labeling it an avalanche. This bottled-up burst of energy that would so often feel like a lethal dosage against an immune system other than Indiana. That those zoomies came with a half of hoop left meant that Indiana wasn't entirely out of the question. Advertisement Against the Pacers, a 20-point lead is eyebrow-raising. A 15-point lead is nail-biting. Ten is eye-popping. Anything inside of that is hardly a lead at all. The moment of truth, the test of how well the Thunder came to grasp that, came midway through the third quarter. OKC's halftime lead of 19 had been trimmed to 13. Yet even its grip on its worst defensive quarter never truly slipped. More: How historic has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's start been in NBA Finals? Inside the numbers Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) walks off the court as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) celebrate during Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Sunday, June 8, 2025. Oklahoma City won 123-107. Chet Holmgren bounces back for Thunder in Game 2 Fresh off a Game 1 in which Indiana forced him to attempt 30 shots, Gilgeous-Alexander more carefully toggled between his spots. With the necessity of young center Chet Holmgren in mind, SGA sliced through double teams and reached for Holmgren, who drilled two early 3s. Advertisement SGA waded his way through waves of defenders, all aiming for a piece of his drives, very few successful. Twelve of his 34 points (11 of 21) came in the third, earning six of his free throws then. He also added five boards, eight assists and four steals, seemingly surveying the floor for shooters almost as often as he surveyed the rim for angles. His first two games, in which he totaled 72 points, marked the highest-scoring two-game debut in NBA Finals history. Slow-motion drives and buttery finishes aside, Gilgeous-Alexander played with the alertness of a man who never quite felt safe by the Thunder's cushion. 'No,' said Gilgeous-Alexander, shaking his head when asked by ESPN's Scott Van Pelt if he ever thought OKC's lead was large enough to exhale. 'Probably when (the lead) was like 15 with a minute left.' Advertisement For a second straight game, center Isaiah Hartenstein was lumped in with the bench. He was a plus-17, marvelous with the group that began the second and fourth quarter and a heavy-handed option alongside Holmgren once the two were reunited. Their two-man lineup held a net rating of 40 in nearly five minutes together. More: Ex-Mavs coach Don Nelson earns NBA Lifetime Achievement Award, protests Luka Doncic trade SGA: Thunder's depth is key to success Alex Caruso, also part of the lineup that saw Wiggins erupt and Hartenstein bruise, added 20 points and four 3s. 'We are the team that we are because of our depth, and because of the punches we can throw between 10, 11 men,' SGA told SVP. 'That's what makes us special, that's what makes us this historic defense, this historic season that we've had so far.' Advertisement Added Pacers coach Rick Carlisle: 'I don't know if there was any lineup that they used that wasn't impactful for them.' Caruso understands what's required to outlast the Pacers better than most. He's acknowledged that they'll play to their identity with a 20-point lead or 20-point deficit, almost making them tolerant to OKC's outbursts. Almost. The Thunder's best line of defense for that disposition — besides holding Indiana below its averages from 3 and making its stars invisible — is to understand the long game. Caruso, 31 going on pension, embodies the long game. 'I keep seeing people for the first time this postseason, people that I know or don't know, they say, congratulations,' Caruso said. 'I truly don't want them to tell me congratulations until the series is over and we've won. I don't feel like we've accomplished anything until we win four games. That's just kind of the mindset I have.' Advertisement Sneak up on these Thunder once, shame on you. Try to come back on OKC twice in a row, be forced to let Furphy provide the testimony. Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@ or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Joel's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at CARLSON: A late Tyrese Haliburton heater doesn't doom Thunder in NBA Finals this time NBA Finals schedule: Thunder vs. Pacers All times are Central Advertisement This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: SGA, OKC Thunder 'threw enough punches' to tie up NBA Finals vs Pacers
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Aaron Wiggins says Thunder won't let title temptations distract from Game 6 against Pacers
Aaron Wiggins says Thunder won't let title temptations distract from Game 6 against Pacers Left open because of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's attention, Aaron Wiggins made the Indiana Pacers regret leaving him open from deep. The 26-year-old made more outside buckets by himself in Game 5 than the Oklahoma City Thunder did as an entire team in Game 4. They enjoyed some positive regression. Wiggins finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting and five rebounds. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had a block. The Thunder did their job with a 120-109 Game 5 win over the Pacers. A 3-2 series lead in the 2025 NBA Finals has them on the cusp of their first championship. Role players play better at home. Wiggins exemplified that principle. When he gets going, the Thunder are difficult to beat. He adds another shot-creator who could create a rhythm and dominate the bench lineups. This was another all-around performance by the Thunder. Everybody played a role. Heading into Game 5, they were due for some steals and outside buckets. They received both from their starters and bench players. "Not too much thought into it yet. Obviously, we know the position we're in. You can't take it for granted. We have the right approach of making sure we take care of business and get done what we have to first," Wiggins said on whether a championship has crossed their mind yet. "But like I said, obviously we know the position we're in. Can't think about it. Got to take it one possession at a time, one game at a time, finish businesslike that."
