Josh Giddey has been a revelation for the Oklahoma City Thunder – notching up impressive stats.
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Over the past three games, OKC rookie Josh Giddey has been un guardable. Supremely confident in his abilities as a player, he seems to be the perfect fit next to another OKC young star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Together the young pairing seems to have captured the backcourt, and have prompted the front office to build a team around them.
Josh joins the legendary Oscar Robertson as the only two rookies to notch back to back to back triple doubles in their professional career, and is the only teenager to ever do so. He now joins Luka Doncic as the only other teenager to have 4 triple doubles before turning 20. That is elite company, for someone so young and raw.
Josh Giddey has been explosive in the past couple of months, his ranking now number 3 in the rookie ladder. Bar Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley, nobody in the league has been as effective as the Australian PG in the 2021 draft class.
Josh Giddey is the first teenager ever with 3 straight triple-doubles.
17 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST
28 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST
11 PTS, 12 REB, 10 ASTTonight was his 4th triple-double, tying Luka Doncic for most by a teenager in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/P4pmq7Iji7
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 17, 2022
Josh Giddey is the best player to come out of Australia since Joe Ingles – Ben Simmons can stay out of this conversation now
Ben Simmons and his saga might have come to a close, but there is another player to take his spot in the news. For good reasons too. Simmons may be an elite player overall, but his diva-ness and inability to cope under pressure means that there will always be a question mark over his ceiling. Not for Giddey, who seems to have been tailor made for this kind of game.
He may have a slow start compared to his form right now, but the teenager seems to be growing into the league game by game. Averaging 12.4 points and 7.8 assists a game, Josh is putting up great numbers. It may be the case of big fish in a small pond, but watching him play, it doesn’t seem that way.
Giddey definitely has a bright future in the league if he just continues on the path he is on right now. Focusing on learning the trade amidst a young team like the Thunder can help his development, and exposure to the bright lights too early could derail anyone’s growth. Just ask Simmons, he paid almost 15 million dollars in fines because he couldn’t take those lights.