Former Maryland men’s basketball star Aaron Wiggins played a little more than nine minutes in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and tallied just three points. In Game 2, Wiggins logged 21 minutes and capitalized on the opportunity.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard scored 18 points and drained five threes off the bench in a 16-point Thunder victory.
Selected 55th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Wiggins posted career-high statistics across the board this season. He averaged 12 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 48.8/38.3/83.1 shooting splits.
Oklahoma City’s depth is a luxury for the team but often puts Wiggins’ minutes in flux. The 26-year-old didn’t play much in the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves and averaged just 1.8 points per game.
Former Maryland standout Keith Gatlin coached Wiggins at Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina. Gatlin says Wiggins’ production in a constantly-changing role shouldn’t be overlooked.
“[Wiggins] played 10 minutes [in Game 1] and I thought he should’ve played more. Then he gets maybe 18 to 20 minutes and he just shows what he can do,” Gatlin said on Glenn Clark Radio June 9. “To have that kind of mindset and to have that kind of moxie to be ready whenever you’re called, it says a lot about the young man.”
Gatlin praised Wiggins’ intelligence and even-keeled attitude on the court that allows him to shine whenever he is given a chance.
“He’s always been a cerebral player, a cerebral thinker. And he’s one of those type of guys where the moment is never too big, he never gets too high, he never gets too low,” Gatlin said. “To go to the arena and you don’t know the minutes you’re going to get or if you’re going to get into the game, that’s tough to do.”
Wiggins excelled as a role player even before the NBA, though. Wiggins took a backseat to others at times in college yet flashed potential and defensive prowess whenever he took the court.
“Even when he was at Maryland … and Maryland was built around Anthony Cowan Jr., Jalen Smith, Bruno [Fernando], Aaron still came off the bench,” Gatlin said. “I thought he could’ve done more, but I understood Maryland was loaded. Given the chance, Aaron could have done everything he was doing now then, it’s just that he’s not going to overstep his boundaries. He’s just going to sit back, and when a lot of people play checkers, Aaron plays chess.”
Wiggins’ opportunities increased across his three years at College Park, culminating in 33 minutes per game as a junior. His scoring jumped from 10.4 to 14.5 points a game, and his field goal percentage improved from 37.7 percent to 44.6 percent.
While his offensive game steadily improved, Wiggins’ versatility and defense were constants.
“That was his calling card, he could defend, he’s 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6, he can play multiple positions,” Gatlin said. “If you watched him [in Game 2 of the Finals], he hit [Tyrese] Haliburton with a dribble and then a step-back, creating space, and people are like ‘Wow, he can do that?’ It’s just that nothing is forced. … He’s always ready to shoot it, he’s always ready to make the extra pass, but defense always gets him on the floor.”
For more from Gatlin, listen to the full interview here:
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