Josh Giddey’s career was declining, but then this happened.

Josh Giddey’s career was declining, but then this happened.

The National Basketball Association stated that they are looking into allegations made against Oklahoma City Thunder Josh Giddy. On November 19th, 2023, Josh Giddy was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl. By November 24th, the allegations gained so much traction that the NBA opened its own investigation. By November 29th, the Newport Beach Police Department also opened their own investigation into Josh Giddy. A few months down the road, however, the investigations were closed as the family of the girl refused to speak with law enforcement. The damage was done. Josh Giddy’s entire reputation and image tanked as he was getting booed in every single road game. Going at Goar, who’s been one of the best shot blockers in the NBA over the last half decade or so. And Giddy able to find glass. People were calling him P Giddy. While he claimed to be mentally tough enough to handle the animosity, his performance on the court said otherwise. Giddy had by far the worst season of his career, which culminated in an even worse playoff run where he looked unplayable against the Dallas Mavericks as they upset the Thunder in six games. On top of all the drama surrounding him that year, Giddy got traded to Chicago, thus prematurely ending his tenure in OKC. Initially deemed as a great fit for the Bulls due to his natural playmaking skills, it was even better than anyone imagined, Giddy has transformed from a misfit in OKC to a superstar in the Windy City. But how how did he do a complete 180 and turn his career around like this? What was holding him back in OKC? And did he always have this talent inside of him? Two seconds left. Katy for the win. My god. Before we start, I’d like to give a shout out to the sponsor of this video, Arena Club. Are you a fan of trading cards? Think about the traditional process. You rip open packs, pull a few cards, then send them off for grading. It’ll take weeks before you finally get them back, and only then can you sell or trade them. Arena Club has revolutionized that process, all on their digital platform. You can buy a slab pack, rip it open, then decide to keep it, sell it to another user on the platform, or sell it immediately with Arena Club’s instant cash offer, or have it shipped directly to your doorstep to get the card in person. They offer a wide range of packs starting at $25. And I just opened the Ruby pack and got a 2024 gold prism Nicola Yokic. I love it. It’s incredibly satisfying and much easier than doing it in real life. With every slap pack, there’s a chance you could hit a grail that’s worth over 20 times the value of the pack itself. And what I love the most is their full transparency. For every pack, you can see what cards are available, including the chance of getting a Grail. There’s also a digital showroom where you can see what other people have, and you can make offers on their cards or auction off your own cards, too. Stay on the lookout for Arena Club specialty drops, which happens at least three times a week. Right now, you can get 20% off your first slap pack or card purchase by going to arena.com/hoops and use my code hoops at checkout. With the sixth pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder, select Josh Giddy from Melbourne, Australia. When Josh Giddy got drafted with the number six pick, he was just 18 years old and already considered one of the most versatile, well-rounded prospects in the history of the draft combine. Standing at 6’8, Giddy is a massive point guard with tremendous natural instincts as a pass first player. The dude was dropping triple doubles as a 16 17year-old against Australian pros. And with so many tools in his bag, the sky was the limit for this young fella. With that being said, he had his fair share of weaknesses too. In particular, a sketchy and some would say broken jump shot along with not being accustomed to playing in an offense where he’s not the primary initiator. Little did he know these two big weaknesses would be exploited on the biggest stage. But let’s rewind a bit. Upon his arrival to OKC, he was one of a handful of players drafted with the intention of rebuilding in the post Westbrook era. Giddy’s emergence also coincided with the arrival of Sha Gilgis Alexander from the LA Clippers via the Paul George trade. As SGA quickly rose up the ranks into a perennial 30 point per game score and the team’s deacto number one option. Giddy, on the other hand, his usage rate became quite inconsistent through his three years in OKC. You see, when you have a scoreer as efficient and lethal as Sheay, you want the ball in his hands all the time, even if he’s not a natural point guard like Giddy. The mere threat of Sheay as a scorer opens up the floor for the rest of his team. As a result, Sheay would be the one frequently bringing the ball up the court and controlling the flow of the offense, while Giddy was relegated to, you know, standing around and watching him. For all his life, he’s been the most effective when running the offense himself. That was in his scouting report, and everyone knew that. By utilizing his court vision and meticulous handles, he’s an expert at finding openings to score and finding his teammates to score. Giddy galloping ahead. Homegr. That is the strength of Giddy’s game. But his opportunity as the primary ball handler diminished over the years. The main culprit was the unorthodox construction of the roster. Sam Prey acquired a plethora of young guards. In fact, most of their best young players were guards from Sheay to Jaylen Williams, Kesan Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe off the bench. The Thunder became a perimeter dominant team, many of whom were skilled at creating off the dribble. They had so many ball handlers already that they had no use for Giddy. And because they were also better shooters and cutters, they played off the ball better than Giddy. With the rise of Sheay into an MVP caliber player, the team needed players to complement his play style and Giddy simply was not it. Of course, you can’t pin the blame on OKC for, you know, stacking a bunch of guards onto their roster. Giddy himself was apprehensive towards his changing role. The 2024 playoff series against the Mavs was the final nail in the coffin. A completely disengaged Giddy struggle to make an impact. Whether it’s defensively or moving off the ball or anything, it was clear he didn’t bring much effort and his skills did not align with the team’s vision. These games were by far the worst performances of his life. He even lost his starting spot and it was obvious he’d soon be gone. Giddy on the spot. One month after OKC’s elimination in the playoffs, Giddy was involved in the ever so elusive one forone trade. It was him for Alex Caruso. That’s it. And now you could safely say this was the greatest win-win trade for both teams. As a matter of fact, this was perceived to be a win-win trade immediately when it happened because it makes total sense. The Thunder got rid of a bad fit in exchange for a defensive-minded pest who doesn’t need the ball to make an impact. The Bulls added a real point guard. Giddy was the missing piece to their roster. Someone who can actually run an offense with the court vision to elevate the rest of his team. Most importantly, this is the first time in his career where he’s been given the keys to the offense, and he’s making the most of it. Will take it on the run. Giddy pulls up and bang bang bang. On October 31st, Giddy recorded a career-high performance, 3210 and N with zero turnovers. Afterwards, the reporters were befuddled at how good he’s become. How are you able to do this? How’d you go from a lost cause in OKC to a borderline superstar after a single summer? Even seasoned veterans like Nicolvich has been scoring and shooting the ball better than he’s ever had before. Giddy has become such a huge threat offensively that defenses need to guard him now. It’s crazy to go from a guy who is completely ignored in the playoffs to someone who you literally need two sets of eyes on at all times. It’s an incredible turnaround. Everyone, even the reporters and announcers are shocked at the insane jump he has taken. In response, Giddy stated, “I’m in a place where I’m wanted. I love being here. I’m happy being here. Having confidence from your teammates to coaches that trust me to go out there and make plays, that’s what you need as a player.” When you have the belief of everyone around you, it propels you in the right direction. Then addressing his former experience in OKC, he said, “Obviously, the situation was different in Oklahoma City. the personnel they have. They’ve got the best player in the world. You want the ball in his hands. It’s just different situations. I love the guys I get to play with every night. There are also several factors that helped accelerate Giddy’s leap into stardom. For one, the Bulls got rid of both Zack Lavine and Demar De Rozan. They led the Bulls nowhere while eating up the majority of the team’s possessions. Had Giddy arrived to this team and they were still here, he would have found himself in a similar situation like an OKC where his opportunities would be limited, it was perfect timing for them to leave and him to arrive. Second, the untimely injury to Kobe White. Kobe White is a high usage shooting guard and one of the few young players on the Bulls who actually made progress over the years. You could say his development was also held back by the existence of D Rozan and Lavine and he broke out when they were both finally gone. However, over the summer, Kobe White suffered a calf injury. This was back in August and the initial diagnosis was he’d be back in a few weeks, no big deal. That few weeks turned into a few months, and he ended up missing the entire preseason in October, and he’s still rehabbing his injury at the time I’m making this video. Nobody knew it at the time, but his injury was a blessing in disguise for Josh Giddy. With the ultimate green light and a complete grasp of the Bull’s offense, Giddy’s true potential was finally unleashed. Now with the highest usage rate of his career, Giddy has been averaging a career-high in points and assists. But most surprisingly, it’s his three-point shooting that has shocked his own fan base. Just being a 40% plus three-point shooter was unfathomable back in his days in OKC. It’s actually his reduced volume that matters more. Only 26% of his shots are from three now compared to 35% a year ago. In total, he’s taken about the same number per game, but it’s a much smaller fraction of his total shots. It was these two things that created the perfect timing and perfect situation for Giddy to thrive. On the back of my mind, however, I can’t help but feel the Bull stumbled into a stroke of luck. The biggest thing holding them back for years has been their front office, the general manager and decision-making. Due to the nature of the Bulls being so popular and maintaining the highest attendance in the league, Jerry Rhinorf and the ownership family has no intentions of spending beyond their means. At one point, he even stated, “I think the important thing to fans is while they want you to win championships, they want to know that when they get down to the last month of the season, you still have a shot. You’re still playing meaningful games. If you can do that consistently, you’ll make your fans happy. But is that really what Bulls fans want? To see their team remain mediocre and lose in the playins year after year with no chance of winning the title? Of course not. That’s a terrible place to be. Fun fact, the Bulls went over the luxury tax only one time in the history of their franchise. That was back in 2013. They’ve actively avoided paying the tax as much as possible cuz the Rhinorf family are businessmen first and don’t see the benefit of going in for a title when they’re already swimming in so much revenue just from staying mediocre. If you remove the Michael Jordan era of Chicago, the Bulls are arguably the worst franchise in basketball. While Giddy has risen above and beyond his expectations, the team also didn’t do much of anything over the 2025 offseason. Besides trading Lonzo Ball to the Cavs for Isaac Aoro, they didn’t do anything else. Yet again, the fans were upset at the lack of dedication to improve the roster. It’s fortunate that Giddy has gave the Bulls fans something to cheer for. But how much of the team success is sustainable? There’s a reason Giddy was considered one of Australia’s greatest prospects. But it’s finally time when everyone realized that it was never his lack of talent holding him back. It was the situation he got thrown into. Now, there’s a lot to love about OKC. Ever since they moved to OKC, the development staff has worked wonders on their young prospects, but if there’s one thing that Sam Prey is always known for, it’s drafting the best player available. Regardless of their fit on the roster, whether it’s a decade ago or recently, he drafted Josh Giddy because he believed he was the best player available at number six. He never cared that there could be positional problems or too many guards on the roster as long as they’re good enough to help the team win. It’s the same mindset that has led OKC to be arguably the most successful franchise ever since they moved to Oklahoma. All the stars they’ve drafted and all the great trades they’ve made and the championship speaks for itself. But much like James Harden back in the day, Giddy needed to be traded. He needed to experience what it’s like running his own team with free reigns to control the entire offense. Like James Harden’s arrival to Houston, Giddy’s arrival to Chicago is the best thing to ever happen for his career. As a result, he reached the next level and the Bulls have the best start to their season in many years. This time, can they actually build on that success? Anyway, let me know your thoughts in the comment section about Josh Giddy and the new look Chicago Bulls. How far do you see them going? And can they actually maintain the success? What do you think? Let me know in the comments. Thank you all so much for watching. I hope you all enjoyed the video and of course, as always, I’ll see you next time. Peace.

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