Coming into his fifth season with the OKC Thunder, Aaron Wiggins has already laid out a case for why he could be considered the biggest bargain player in the entire league.
With his spark plug style of play and full-throttle effort on the court, the 26-year-old has ingratiated himself with the club's fanbase and has become a key piece of Oklahoma City's title-winning core.
Following Sunday's preseason opener against the Charlotte Hornets, coach Mark Daigneault couldn't help but vocalize what he believes makes Wiggins such a special piece of the team's main rotation.
Thunder coach praises 'awareness' of Aaron Wiggins
Asked by reporters how Wiggins is able to consistently rise to the occasion, regardless of what role he's tasked with playing, the soon-to-be sixth-year headman highlighted his "great awareness" as the primary factor.
"Awareness is a skill and he's got it. He understands what's going on in the game and what's going on around him, what the team needs at a given point in time," Daigneault said.
While perhaps best known as OKC's "super sub," as he has spent his tenure in the Sooner State predominantly coming off the pine and is fresh off a career-best 2024-25 campaign where he dropped averages of 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor in a primary reserve role, sprinkled throughout his career Wiggins has shown flashes of excelling while serving as a primary weapon as well.
A prime example of this came late last season, when, while playing with Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren sidelined, he led the charge in the scoring department with a career-high 41 points during a 144-110 beatdown of the Sacramento Kings.
This year's preseason opener was merely yet another reminder of Wiggins' ability to wear multiple hats within a team's scheme, as he served as the go-to scorer and main ball handler for the Thunder in their matchup against the Hornets.
The result of this experiment was a well-rounded 23 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds stat line on 71.4 percent shooting from the floor and 50.0 percent shooting from deep for the wing and, most importantly, a commanding 135-114 win for Oklahoma City.
Whether he's needed to buy a bucket or create scoring opportunities for his running mates (his dime to Isaiah Joe in the closing minute of the second quarter was truly noteworthy), Wiggins can provide whatever services are needed from him on the hardwood, particularly on the offensive end.
As Daigneault put it, "you can put him in any role, and he's going to thrive," which, as he acknowledged, is nothing new to him.