Josh Giddey impresses in his Thunder preseason debut

Josh Giddey showed out with his off-hand passing and finishing in his preseason debut, a Thunder loss to the Hornets.

In failing to move up to the No. 1 spot in the draft lottery, the Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to draft the fun, exciting, 6-foot-8 player that every lottery team dreamed of selecting in 2021.

Instead, with the No. 6 pick, the Thunder drafted the fun, exciting, 6-foot-8 playmaker that … well, was not projected to go this high by most scouts and analysts.

But in Josh Giddey’s first preseason game, a 113-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the Australian guard showed out. He had team-highs of 18 points and seven rebounds to go with three assists. Starting alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and Isaiah Roby, Giddey’s 29 minutes were the most on the team.

His professional experience shined on some plays. This cross-court, left-handed pass isn’t one a normal rookie makes in his preseason debut:

The pass alone would be impressive, but look at him quick to sneak in as center Mason Plumlee failed to box him out. Plumlee is a 6-foot-11 veteran, but Giddey snagged the offensive board and finished the and-one through him.

In another play, Giddey did a good job slowing down over the screen, surveying the court, and making his move right as center Nick Richards started to slide away from the center of the court.

Richards got in the way of Miles Bridges, which gave Giddey the time to gain the advantage on Bridges.

He looked good and was efficient in the opener, going 8-for-12 from the field and making two of the four 3-pointers he attempted. He had two turnovers in the game.

Other rookie performances

Mann did not shine the way Giddey did on Monday night. The No. 18 pick in the draft had eight points on 1-for-7 shooting and three turnovers over 20 minutes of play, but there were two areas in which Mann stood out.

His six free throws were the most on the team. The only others who attempted more than two were Gilgeous-Alexander and Ty Jerome, both of whom attempted three.

Mann had three steals as well, a nice positive for the 6-foot-3 Florida product.

His one made field goal was this nifty finish:

No. 32 overall pick Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was the first player to be subbed in for the Thunder, replacing Roby at center. In 15 minutes of play, the former Villanova big had two steals, two rebounds and four fouls without scoring.

No. 55 overall pick Aaron Wiggins entered the game in the fourth quarter and burst out for 12 points in just seven minutes of play. He went 4-for-5 from the field and made all three 3-pointers he attempted.