Aaron Wiggins is wasting no time making himself comfortable in Atlanta.
Just three games into the 2026-27 NBA season, the former Thunder wing is averaging 17.0 points off the bench for the Hawks, and he’s doing it with real efficiency: 58.1 percent shooting from the field and 52.6 percent from three. Atlanta has given him a bigger lane, and Wiggins is showing exactly why Oklahoma City trusted him whenever his role expanded.
That wasn’t a one-off in OKC, either. Whenever the Thunder leaned harder on Wiggins, he delivered.
Injuries piled up around the team during its long postseason runs over the past few years, and he repeatedly stepped in and produced. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, he has posted nine games with at least 20 points while playing 30 or more minutes.
So when Oklahoma City moved him to Atlanta this summer, the fit made sense. The Hawks had climbed back into the playoff picture, but they still needed reliable help beyond their starting five. Wiggins landed in the kind of situation where his minutes, touches and opportunity could finally match his production.
The Thunder knew what they were giving up, even if they didn’t have much room to maneuver. With the league’s latest CBA shaping the roster picture, Wiggins was among three important pieces the franchise had to send out. Still, GM Sam Presti made sure Wiggins ended up in a good spot.
That choice is already paying off for Atlanta. Wiggins has become part of the Hawks’ encouraging 2-1 start, and his new role lets him show his full game over an entire season instead of drifting in and out of the rotation like he did in Bricktown.
The Thunder won’t have to wait long to see him again. Atlanta visits Oklahoma City on November 18, and both Wiggins and Dort should get a warm reception for what they gave the franchise while wearing blue and orange.
In Other News...
Thunder Head To Dallas With A Roster Problem Getting Worse
The Thunders injury sheet is starting to look more like a depth chart of absences than a game-night roster, and the timing could hardly be less convenient with a trip to Dallas next. Oklahoma City is already preparing to play without Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Nikola Topi and Thomas Sorber, while Ajay Mitchell is listed as questionable, leaving the rotation thin before the team even gets on the floor.
Holmgren is set to miss a second straight game after sitting out Monday against Phoenix, and the latest wave of injuries only adds to the uncertainty around how the Thunder will piece together lineups on the road. Dallas has its own long list of availability issues, which means the matchup is shaping up as one of those early-season games where the final box score may say as much about who was able to suit up as it does about anything else. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Rallying Around Injuries Says Everything About This Team
The Thunders latest win came with the kind of postgame backdrop that tends to tell you plenty about a team, even before the numbers do. With Jalen Williams already sidelined, Isaiah Hartenstein took a moment after the game to acknowledge the absence of his injured teammate and describe the way Oklahoma City has tried to keep moving forward, one night at a time, while still carrying the weight of those missing pieces.
There is now another layer to manage, with GM Sam Presti announcing that Cason Wallace will miss significant time because of a left shoulder tear. Hartenstein also had a lighter moment in the mix, wearing Williams jersey and joking about the reaction he got from Wallace, a small bit of locker-room levity that said something about the groups mood even as the injury list keeps growing. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Title Hopes Just Took An Early Hit
Early-season injury reports around the NBA are already piling up, and Oklahoma City has found itself at the center of that churn. Around 15 percent of players were listed with injuries or illnesses, with a long list of notable names expected to miss significant time, a reminder that title races can look a lot different before November even settles in. For a Thunder team built on depth, continuity and young legs, the league-wide attrition is more than background noise, it is part of the backdrop for what could shape the Western Conference race.
The concern for Oklahoma City is not just what those absences mean elsewhere, but how quickly the balance of power can shift when key contributors are unavailable. Other teams will have to survive without stars such as Jalen Williams, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, and every injury opens a lane for someone else to seize a larger role. For the Thunder, the challenge is staying steady while the rest of the league scrambles to adjust, because these early misses can test depth in a hurry and change the complexion of the title chase before it ever finds its stride. [Read more 🡒]