On Wednesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder suffered its first loss of the season. They blew a 22-point lead and, ultimately, lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 121-119.
Despite sloppy turnovers, poor shooting, and slap-happy foul troubles, amid the chaos, one player rose to the occasion under the bright lights of the Moda Center.
Said talent -- Aaron Wiggins.
Aaron Wiggins has shown signs of stardom throughout Thunder tenure
Wiggins lit up the stat sheet with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the floor and 7-for-10 shooting from deep while adding two rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
OKC was +12 while he was on the floor.
Wiggins has quietly been exceeding expectations all season long. With crucial stars injured, he has been called upon to play a bigger role and has responded.
His standout performance on Wednesday was his second showing where he's dropped 20 or more points on the season, and his third where he's hit four or more three-pointers.
In nine games played, he is third on the team in net rating. Of the players who have started over 50.0 percent of games, he is first.
None of this should come as a surprise to Thunder fans, though, as he has always shown flashes of brilliance throughout his time in the Sooner State.
In the 13 games where he's played 30 or more minutes in 2024-25, Wiggins averaged 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, which included a 41-point, 14-rebound masterpiece against the Kings.
Most teams in the NBA would jump at the chance to have a starter, let alone a role player, who was capable of this production.
Wiggins' surge comes now in year two of a five-year, $45 million deal he signed during the summer of 2024. Since then, all he has done is outproduce this value.
For context, players making a similar salary to Wiggins include Scoot Henderson, Royce O'Neil, and Jonas Valenciunas.
This season, Valencunas and O'Neil are both over seven points worse than Wiggins in offensive rating and over 14 points worse in defensive rating.
Henderson has yet to play this year, but his offensive and defensive ratings were both over seven points worse than Wiggins' last year.
This home run re-signing by Sam Presti and the Thunder front office provided them with the flexibility to acquire essential pieces last offseason. They were able to sign Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and trade for Alex Caruso while paying him $81 million over the following four seasons.
Both of these additions were necessary to their championship run last spring.
Wiggins helping Thunder unlock new heights other teams only dream of
However much of a bargain Wiggins was in 2024-25, he may prove to be even more so this year.
Wiggins has been showing that he has the potential to be a reliable sixth man come playoffs, especially with his improved perimeter shooting (38.3 percent last year to 41.7 percent this year). He is also currently posting career-highs of 14.8 points and 2.2 assists per game.
From the eye test, Wiggins has demonstrated the ability to create plays from anywhere on the court, something the Thunder were lacking last year outside of Shai and Jalen Williams.
The on-ball maturation of both Wiggins and Ajay Mitchell this season has given OKC a much-needed bump in the absence of J-Dub. Combine these skillsets with the unrelenting defense of Alex Caruso and the ever-improving sharpshooting of Isaiah Joe, and Oklahoma City looks like they may have one of the best second units in the NBA.
With how fast Wiggins is developing as an all-around playmaker, who knows what else he will unlock as he continues to earn a larger role in the rotation.