If you had to guess, some would assume Josh Giddey felt like Squidward when he saw SpongeBob and Patrick outside. The Oklahoma City Thunder had an adventurous playoff run on their way to a 2025 NBA championship.

Giddey spent his first three seasons with the Thunder from 2021-24. He saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren ascend from a rebuild to contender.

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After an awkward fit and being benched in the 2024 NBA playoffs, Giddey requested a trade. That’s fair. He wouldn’t have had his best individual success under his role in OKC. So the Thunder shipped him to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso.

The move paid off for both parties. Caruso helped the Thunder win an NBA championship. Giddey had a career season as he averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists. The self-bet paid off as he was signed to a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Bulls.

As the Bulls are off to a hot 3-0 start, Giddey appeared on ESPN’s “NBA Today” flagship show. Malika Andrews asked him his thoughts on OKC’s championship, considering his history there and how he saw it go from a young team to a contender firsthand.

No bitterness was shown. While Giddey admitted it was difficult to feel neutral, he was ultimately happy to see the Thunder win an NBA championship. His relationships with several former teammates surfaced when they went back and forth with the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals.

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“It was a weird feeling because I was with them a year ago. I’m very close to all the guys still. To see that was a weird feeling. Obviously, there’s zero bad blood there. So I was very happy,” Giddey said. “If the Bulls didn’t win it, I was more than happy for the Thunder. They deserve it. I was more than happy for the players, the fans and the state. They were the best team all year.”

Most of the team, NBA divorces can get messy. Especially when the team and player ambitions directly clash with each other. But while Giddey wasn’t a long-term piece, the Thunder made the best of their situation and added a role player who was a better fit. All sides should be happy with how it turned out.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Josh Giddey ‘very happy’ to see Thunder win 2025 NBA championship