Heading into Australia’s group contest against Canada, Josh Giddey had a little extra motivation beyond the 2024 Olympics.
The 21-year-old had an early chance to show out against his former teammates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort. The trio were traditional starters for the Oklahoma City Thunder the last three seasons.
A career-worst campaign last year featured Giddey playing a career-low in minutes and was benched during OKC’s final two playoff games. After the season, he requested a fresh start after refusing to come off the bench for next season.
Giddey’s wish was granted when he was swapped with Alex Caruso to the Chicago Bulls. Entering the last year of his rookie deal, he hopes to have a bounce-back campaign next season as a primary ball-handler to secure a long-term deal.
In Australia’s close loss to Canada, Giddey exemplified why he still has a shot to be a quality NBA starter and couldn’t work out on the Thunder any longer.
Scoring the opening basket on a patent floater, Giddey had a strong start. The 6-foot-8 guard controlled the rhythm and was a maestro with the ball. He gained confidence and hit on some difficult off-dribble 3-pointers on the shortened Olympics perimeter line.
At halftime, he led the Boomers to a 49-45 lead with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He stuffed the stat sheet and was the best player on the court.
It was easy to see why the Thunder liked Giddey so much. He showed flashes of being a high-end playmaker who can attack the basket and get to the free-throw line. The outside shot also looked respectable, which has been his biggest weakness since entering the league.
An awesome first half saw some Thunder fans ponder if they made a mistake. Perhaps Giddey could’ve worked out here and should’ve received more on-ball reps. There was a sense of FOMO in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
But then the second half quickly reminded folks why it wouldn’t have worked out and a clean divorce was the best course of action for both parties this offseason.
Canada assigned its top two defenders Dort and Dillon Brooks to Giddey. As soon as that happened, the 21-year-old collapsed under the pressure. He struggled to create space and faded into the background as Canada created a large lead.
Giddey had just four points on 1-of-5 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in the latter two quarters.
A pair of turnovers were caused by former teammate Dort — who poked the ball away from Giddey from behind as he sprinted past halfcourt and had the ball snatched from him later on for an easy transition dunk for Canada to end the third quarter.
Australia struggled to score in the second half and Giddey being iced out left them with no real go-to scorer. Canada collected a double-digit win in a contest with several lead changes in the first half.
The tale of two halves summarized Giddey. He can thrive as a ball-handler but that wasn’t going to happen with the Thunder. A quiet second half demonstrated some of the struggles he might face as the focal point of opposing defenses.
The Thunder could’ve run it back with Giddey next season, but it’d be doing so knowing there’s a ceiling with his impact as the fourth option on limited touches.
Instead, the Thunder ripped the bandaid off and found an easier fit in Caruso, a textbook 3-and-D starter. It was the right call to make — even if Giddey goes on to have a solid career with the Bulls.
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