OKC Thunder 3 goals: Aaron Wiggins could get Sixth Man award buzz

A summer filled with celebration nears its end. Only a month remains until the Oklahoma City Thunder start the 2025-26 regular season. The NBA champion has enjoyed its accomplishments, but soon a new marathon will start with them at the top.

Bringing back mostly the same roster, the Thunder are the consensus title favorite. They're viewed as a team that could pull off the rare feat of being a back-to-back champion. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all signed contract extensions this offseason to keep their title window wide open.

To prepare for the 2025-26 regular season, Thunder Wire will lay out three goals for all 17 players on the roster. OKC has 15 standard players and two two-way players. Let's look at Aaron Wiggins and what he could accomplish this upcoming year:

Remain an outside shooter

After being an efficient outside shooter on decent volume, the Thunder begged Wiggins to take more. He had an appetite to take on more outside shots. The strategy paid off. After averaging just 1.9 outside attempts in his first three seasons, he doubled that last season at 4.5 attempts. The efficiency didn't suffer too badly, either. He shot 38.3% from 3 on that volume. Impressive numbers that show maybe he could even take another bump in outside attempts.

While Wiggins has shown himself to be a capable catch-and-shoot threat, he also showed how he can beat his defender off the dribble. He was one of their better self-creation scorers. Perhaps only behind Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. The variety of outside buckets gives him more creative avenues to increase his volume. He doesn't need to just stand around the perimeter.

Stay a double-digit scorer

When you win an NBA championship, you need several role players to have simultaneous career seasons. Wiggins was one of those players last season. He broke out with career highs across the board. After being an inconsistent piece in the rotation, he cemented himself as one of the first guys off the bench. The loudest way he did that was by being a more consistent scorer.

After averaging 7.3 points in his first three seasons, he went off for 12.0 points last season. That included his first career 40-point outburst and a handful of 30-point performances. The 26-year-old is in the middle of his prime, which means he should be able to average double-digit points once again as he repeats his role.

Receive some Sixth Man buzz

The Thunder could be due for another dominating regular season. That means they should have several representatives in the award races. While they brought home the MVP and had a chance to do the same with Defensive Player of the Year last season, there was no serious noise about Sixth Man of the Year. The bench production was a group effort. This upcoming season could be different, though.

The Sixth Man of the Year conversation usually boils down to who averaged the most points. If Wiggins takes another step as a double-digit scorer, he'll get some buzz for the award. Pair that with another first seed and he should receive love. He may not be a finalist, but just being in the conversation would be a major step up for a former No. 55 pick.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder 3 goals: Aaron Wiggins could get Sixth Man award buzz