Aaron Wiggins' 22-Point Night Showcases Trust and Energy of the OKC Thunder Roster

Typically the "hero" behind the Oklahoma City Thunder's 31 wins this season has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

It makes sense. Gilgeous-Alexander is in contention for the MVP award alongside former winners Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, averaging numbers of 31.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game on 57.4/33/89% shooting splits. 

Sometimes it might be Rookie of the Year contender Chet Holmgren, or perhaps Jalen Williams, who hit the go-ahead jumper to secure the Thunder's two-point victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The "hero" of last night's win over the San Antonio Spurs? Aaron Wiggins. 

In his three seasons in Oklahoma City, Wiggins has been a reliable forward off the bench that brings solid minutes to the rotation. This season it's been harder to find minutes in the rotation for the 25-year-old, resulting in just 12.8 minutes and 5.5 points per game. 

Wednesday night's blowout gave Wiggins an opportunity to step on the court and play his game to its full capacity, making for an incredible performance that the entire Thunder roster rallied behind. 

Wiggins scored 22 points on an incredibly efficient 9-for-11 shooting night, including 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range. His next highest point total of the season was just 13, and the 22 point night wasn't far off from his career-high of 28. 

As a result, Wiggins received the postgame honors, accompanied by Holmgren, Jalen and Jaylin Williams. One arm from Jaylin wrapped over Wiggins, Jalen started making faces to crack a smile out of him and Holmgren entered the mix by barking like a "dawg."

"Why you so efficient?” Williams said after Nick Gallo posed a similar question. 

The youth of the Thunder roster has allowed the team to come together as a unit unlike any other team in the NBA. It's a huge part of how it finds itself as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference up to this point, and its energy is hard to match on any given night. 

"It's the group that we're with," Wiggins said surrounded by barking noises. "You see these guys...they always have energy. I think every postgame they do this. We play together [and] we have fun so it makes the game fun."

The little things, such as staying with their teammates and cracking jokes with each other, have gone a long way to the success Oklahoma City has been enjoying in the first half of the season. Every player embraces and holds each other up after every game, no matter if they win or lose. 

"Wiggs is like a Swiss Army knife," Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame. "You can throw him in any situation and he has something for it. If we need energy he comes in, [gets] offensive rebounds, runs the floor. If we need defense he comes in and will defend. If we need spot shooting he'll come in and make some threes.

"He understands his job and his role. He's a star in his role, for sure." 

It takes selflessness to accept a lesser role, and Wiggins has done that effectively. On a different team he may receive more minutes, but he bought into the role and steps up when his team needs him to. Even if his role has changed, the importance of his place on the roster hasn't. 

Whether it's the 1st or 10th man, the Thunder roster has displayed trust to rely on each other during any given night. It was Wiggins' night, and it made sure that the ball swung to him when he was feeling energized offensively. 

"I really liked how much we trusted each other," Holmgren said. "That ball was really moving around, especially out there in that second unit. Everybody trusted that when they get off the ball it's gonna come right back if they trusted the offense. Whoever was out there on the floor, all five guys trusted each other." 

Trust is one of the key aspects of a championship contender that tends to go under the radar, and Oklahoma City has already accomplished that. It's a hard skill to grasp for teams that haven't been together for several seasons, but it came naturally to this roster in just a couple of years.

The Thunder may be one of the youngest teams in the NBA, but it's camaraderie is that of a dynasty in the early stages of forming. 

And as the league has quickly been realizing, that dynasty might be arriving sooner than expected.