Aaron Wiggins Looking to Bounce Back After 2026 Struggles

Oklahoma City couldn’t get over the hump in 2026, and the struggles of a key role player may have played a role.

After looking dominant through the first two rounds of their title defense, the Thunder were unable to secure another trip to the NBA Finals, falling in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs. After a classic Game 7 to finish the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder’s offseason is officially underway.

While there will be plenty of things to look forward to throughout the offseason and plenty of changes to potentially be made, it also gives an opportunity to look back at what went wrong. Oklahoma City had an abundance of depth to lean on throughout the postseason, but Aaron Wiggins’ struggles may have hurt the Thunder more than initially thought, and he recently explained how he navigated some of those issues.

“A lot of things change from day to day, and obviously year to year,” Wiggins said. “At the end of the season and that last stretch, I wasn't my best self, and I obviously wasn't seeing the minutes that I might be capable of seeing. But from a team perspective, still being a professional, buying into the team and being around guys who I love supporting and being with, it makes it easy to come in and embrace the togetherness of the team first.”

After being an instrumental part of the Thunder’s title run in 2025, Wiggins was unable to capture some of the same consistency that made him special last season. While he started the season strong, an early injury thwarted that momentum, and he never got back to that version of himself.

Wiggins finished his fifth season in Oklahoma City averaging 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting a career-worst 43.1% from the field and 35.6% from deep, which was the worst mark since his rookie year.

Obviously, this season didn’t go according to plan for Wiggins, but he still has plenty of room to improve as the offseason arrives. Stating he wants to work on everything this summer, Wiggins has the potential to come back as a more complete player next season.

Of course, with Oklahoma City’s conference finals exit, there are plenty of questions surrounding Sam Presti’s upcoming roster decisions, which could impact Wiggins. Whether Wiggins is in Oklahoma City next season or gets traded elsewhere, his play and attitude have been massive for the Thunder’s success over the past half-decade.

Even through his struggles, Wiggins never wavered from being the player and person he’s been since arriving in Oklahoma City.

“I love basketball,” Wiggins said. “So coming in here being able to put forth what I could to the game every day, and then my teammates -- I've got great teammates, guys who compete and are selfless every single day and try to give their best foot forward to the game and to the team. Why wouldn't I do it? “

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