{"id":136812,"date":"2025-04-29T11:17:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=136812"},"modified":"2025-04-29T11:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:32:39","slug":"aaron-wiggins-big-game-okc-round-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/29\/aaron-wiggins-big-game-okc-round-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Expect a Big Series for Aaron Wiggins in the Second Round\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/27\/ja-morant-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> in the first round with ease, fans have been witnessing big performances from its key players. We are yet to see one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wiggiaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Wiggins<\/a> big game for OKC so far, but one should expect him to grind it in the second round of the playoffs. Let&#8217;s dive into what Wiggins&#8217; play could mean to the Thunder.<\/p>\n<h2>Expect a Big Series for Aaron Wiggins in the Second Round<\/h2>\n<h3>Aaron Wiggins&#8217; Value to the Thunder<\/h3>\n<p>For most of the 2024-25 season, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/10\/aaron-wiggins-x-factor\/\" target=\"_self\">Aaron Wiggins&#8217; impact<\/a> has benefited the Thunder. He has been stepping up and delivering massive performances for OKC, showing off his value when it mattered most.<\/p>\n<p>With clutch baskets, timely threes, and hustle plays, Wiggins has stepped up big for OKC this season. Dubbed &#8220;The Man Who Saved Basketball&#8221;, Aaron Wiggins has earned a massive reputation among Thunder fans so far with his antics. Whether starting or coming off the bench, the guard has been special in the Thunder&#8217;s campaign to 68 wins.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Aaron Wiggins was the leading scorer in a historic playoff win btw<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NekiasNBA\/status\/1914037267896664205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, Wiggins only averaged 13.8 minutes in four games against the Grizzlies, which ended in a sweep. Wiggins posted 9.5 points and 1.5 rebounds for the series in 46.9% shooting. The best game from the guard came in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/21\/ja-morant-responds-grizzlies-blowout\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">lopsided Game 1 win<\/a>, where he scored 21 points on 53.3% shooting on 26 minutes of action.<\/p>\n<p>But for the rest of the series, Wiggins totaled 28 minutes through the final three games. He even went scoreless in Game 3, but played just seven minutes in that run. Now that it&#8217;s all said and done, fans are expecting to see more bursts of Wiggins in the second round.<\/p>\n<h3>Why Wiggins is an X-Factor<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/28\/thunder-match-up-clippers-nuggets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">OKC&#8217;s potential opponent<\/a> could end up either as the Los Angeles Clippers or the Denver Nuggets. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/27\/james-harden-clippers-title-chances\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Both of these teams are the heavyweight punchers<\/a> at this point, and this may be the series where we will see Wiggins thrive.<\/p>\n<p>Against the Clippers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/aaron-wiggins-stats-vs-clippers-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wiggins<\/a> averaged 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in four meetings &#8211; all wins. What makes Wiggins a special player to watch in this potential series is that the Clippers are guard-heavy. Wiggins would fit in almost every lineup that OKC can come up with, which means he will be getting bigger minutes. He would play a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/26\/stat-that-gives-clippers-edge-over-nuggets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">huge role in limiting LA&#8217;s guards<\/a>, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dunnkr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kris Dunn<\/a> or even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/powelno01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norman Powell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wiggins&#8217; play is also capable of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/27\/nuggets-series-gets-once-in-a-lifetime-save\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">blowing fans away in Denver<\/a>, especially with the Nuggets lacking speedy offensive guards. This just means that Wiggins will likely have scoring touches in a series against Denver due to their big lineup. Imagine him running alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willija06.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Williams<\/a> for extended minutes. The fact that he can shoot and defend at the same time makes him a good counter for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jamal Murray<\/a> or even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Porter Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>An Elevated Season for Wiggins<\/h3>\n<p>Wiggins has averaged 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 48.8% shooting in 22.9 minutes per night. He has stepped up big-time for OKC, and all signs point toward further growth for the guard. Wiggins can explode for a massive scoring night at any time, which makes OKC such a dangerous team.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A CAREER NIGHT FOR AARON WIGGINS \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n<p>41 PTS (career high)<br \/>14 REB (career high)<br \/>6 3PM (career high)<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@okcthunder<\/a> W. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nvsr7Q9n8M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/nvsr7Q9n8M<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1885894752211472562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This season has been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/16\/keys-for-thunder-to-have-successful-postseason\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">highly impressive for Aaron Wiggins<\/a>. The 26-year-old guard has upped his stats and certainly improved his all-around play. OKC has counted on him more than once this year, and it is a reason why he&#8217;s a fan favorite. Against either the Nuggets or Clippers, Wiggins is poised for a big series with at least one signature game.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round with ease, fans have been witnessing big performances from its key players. We are yet to see one Aaron Wiggins big game for OKC so far, but one should expect him to grind it in the second round of the playoffs. Let&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5536,"featured_media":136887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,22],"tags":[50041,2525,4609,1489],"class_list":["post-136812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-thunder","tag-2025-nba-playoffs","tag-aaron-wiggins","tag-jalen-williams","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136812"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136888,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136812\/revisions\/136888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}