2022-23 Thunder player grades: Aaron Wiggins
The 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder’s season ended with the play-in tournament loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which means it’s time for reflection.
Being one of the biggest overachievers in the league, the Thunder finished with a 40-42 record after being predicted by many to have high lottery odds.
Now that the season is in the books, let’s go back and evaluate all 19 players who suited up for the Thunder this season. Grades will be handed out to every player in terms of what their expectations were heading into the season and how they lived up to them.
The eighth player in this installment is Aaron Wiggins, who quietly improved as one of the Thunder’s more reliable wing options off the bench despite shaky playing time.
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(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)
2022-23 statisics:
6.8 points
3 rebounds
1.1 assists
51.2% shooting
39.3% 3-point shooting
83.1% free-throw shooting
Advanced stats:
True-shooting percentage: 60.7%
Usage rate: 14.5%
Win shares: 2.6
Significant Percentile Finishes:
P&R ball-handler: 72.2 percentile
P&R roll man: 79.2 percentile
Cut: 65.7 percentile
Transition: 73.7 percentile
Contract:
2023-24: $1.8 million (non-guaranteed)
2024-25: $2 million (team option)
Thoughts:
Wiggins certainly lived up to his basketball aura, as it felt like any time he was on the floor for the Thunder, good things happened. This feeling is backed up by his on/off numbers — when he was on the floor, OKC was a plus-2.4; his on-off numbers were plus-1.8. His individual net rating was also 1.5.
While judging a player’s entire worth based on those numbers can be a bit folly — who Wiggins shared the court with is an important variable out of his control — it’s still a positive sign that strengthens the argument he plays winning basketball.
Reducing his volume, Wiggins made strides with his efficiency and overall had a solid sophomore season. He went from averaging 6.7 shots on 46.3% last season to 5.2 shots on 51.2% this year.
Most of Wiggins’ scoring was assisted on — 69.6% of his made 2-pointers and 95.8% of his made 3-pointers resulted in assists. This shows how great of an off-ball mover Wiggins is, as he has made it a skill to time his cuts perfectly as well as finding open spots on the floor to generate quality looks. It’s a thankless skill to have as it won’t make the highlight reel, but with the Thunder having so many ball-handlers and aspiring ball-handlers on their roster, it’s a critical skill to possess.
Not everybody will manage to have several on-ball possessions, which means that players will need to improve their off-ball skills to make the Thunder offense work. Wiggins is a prime example of this.
The inconsistent playing time was Wiggins’ biggest problem this season, which isn’t really a knock against him. Despite the Thunder seemingly always having success when he’s on the floor, Wiggins’ struggled to see action on the court — had had 14 starts this season and 27 games where he played less than 15 minutes, a pretty jarring contrast.
Despite this, he continued to play well in his role and did what was asked of him for most nights. By the end of the season, Wiggins established himself as a legit rotation piece — a homerun development considering he was the 55th overall pick in his draft class.
Moving Forward:
The size of Wiggins’ future role with the Thunder is unknown, but it’s quite evident he’ll carve out a nice 10-plus-year career with the way he plays. The Thunder found a real gem with Wiggins late in the second round and is arguably OKC’s second-best player from his class behind Josh Giddey.
The 3-point shot will probably never develop into a serious weapon for Wiggins, but his elite natural instincts of moving off-ball and not just standing around the perimeter will keep him employed for a long time. It’s a vital skill to have as someone who will likely max out as a rotation wing.
Kenrich Williams has said multiple times that Wiggins reminds him of himself and I can definitely see the comparison when strictly talking about how they carry themselves both on and off the court. The coolheaded but competitive demeanors are very similar.
It’s still a mystery as to how the Thunder will handle Wiggins in the future — it seems like what the team thinks and what public opinion thinks are different from each other.
Regardless, it’s hard not to see how much better the Thunder plays with Wiggins on the floor — whether that’s a correlation or a causation is up for debate.
Entering his third season, it’s easy to bet on Wiggins to continue to steadily improve and slowly rise within OKC’s totem pole of trust. While he might not be the flashiest or most skilled player on the roster, he’s a well-rounded wing with low maintenance who doesn’t have a weakness that will severely limit the Thunder.
Final Grade: B
