Aaron Wiggins may not be the headline move on the Atlanta Hawks’ roster, but he looks like one of the more interesting pieces in the mix as training camp settles in.
Atlanta has already done a lot of its heavy lifting. The Hawks took a swing on Lu Dort, moved off Buddy Hield, added rookies who could help right away, and brought back Jock Landale and CJ McCollum after both played well last season. That Hield deal matters because it shows the front office is willing to move on quickly if a player doesn’t clearly fit into the rotation.
At guard, the picture is already fairly clear. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels and McCollum sit at the top of the depth chart, while Kingston Flemings appears set to begin the season as the fourth guard.
The expectation is that Flemings will step in as Daniels’ backup at point guard. Hield’s departure doesn’t change that setup, but it does open the door a bit wider for Wiggins.
That’s where the real intrigue starts. Wiggins now looks like the kind of end-of-bench player who can matter more than the label suggests.
Atlanta has gotten meaningful regular-season value out of that spot before, with Vit Krejci and Garrison Mathews each catching fire from deep and giving the Hawks a real boost. In a crowded Eastern Conference, that kind of extra punch can swing games.
Wiggins has a case to be even more useful than either of those previous bench shooters. If he stays healthy and gets comfortable in Quin Snyder’s system, he could become a valuable fifth guard who also slides in at small forward, defends well enough and can punish teams from three.
His game fits cleanly into what Atlanta wants to do. Wiggins is not a player who lives in every corner of the floor.
Last season, most of his shots came from three-point range, with 279 attempts, plus 131 looks around the rim. Of the 239 shots he took from the rim out to 10 feet, 158 were layups.
That means about 66% of his paint touches were layups, which tells you how direct his offense is.
That simplicity should work in Snyder’s offense. Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels are both strong passers, and they should be able to feed Wiggins on cuts or find him when he’s spaced out on the perimeter. He doesn’t need a complicated role to help.
There’s also the shooting history. Before a down season in 2025-26, Wiggins had hit at least 38% from deep in three straight years, topping out at 38.3% on 4.5 attempts per game in 2024-25. Those numbers came on relatively modest volume, but his shot count has climbed over the last two seasons, and Atlanta should keep pushing that forward.
He may not match Krejci or Mathews as a pure shooter at first glance, but Wiggins brings more on defense. He has posted 20-plus defensive field goal attempts per 100 possessions in each of the last two seasons, including the 86th percentile last season.
That basically means he’s frequently the closest defender on shot attempts and does a solid job staying attached to his man. He isn’t piling up steals or blocks, but he should be an upgrade over the more limited defenders Atlanta has used in that role.
Snyder made that point clear on Media Day when he talked about Wiggins and Dort:
"I think first, to add players with championship-level pedigree, that's something in and of itself that's an excellent addition. Fundamentally, you do understand the importance of defending....that's something our team began to really embrace.
It's a crucial element of our team...and when we're grounded there and with our habits, that's when we'll be able to run. Those guys have experienced that."
If Snyder really is placing a premium on postseason experience, Wiggins should get a real runway to show what he can do. The bigger question is whether he can bounce back from a disappointing season in OKC and settle into a new setting in Atlanta.
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