The OKC Thunder shocked the NBA world during the 2021 NBA Draft, using the sixth selection on a 6’9 18-year-old point guard from Australia that admits he did not know if playing in the National Basketball Association was in store for him.
Sam Presti electing to go with Josh Giddey in the draft left Oklahoma City fans puzzled, and a foot injury robbed us of seeing Giddey dip his toe into the NBA waters.
After seeing other NBA prospects shine in Vegas, while the top two Thunder rookies leave the event early, fans are still wondering what exactly the team will get in Giddey.
The Oklahoma City Thunder rebuild is already, surprising, dividing the fanbase. Some fans are already impatient and have never had to deal with the struggle of a rebuilding franchise. After poor lottery luck and a head-scratching selection, the light at the end of the tunnel might seem far away.
However, if Presti is correct in his belief that Josh Giddey can be a star, the Thunder will be back in the postseason before long.
The duration of this rebuild, largely, rests on the shoulders of Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and whoever the team drafts in the 2022 NBA Draft.
So can OKC Thunder rookie Josh Giddey earn All-Rookie honors?
Ah, the All-Rookie team in the NBA. A fun, passionate debate…for about five minutes after the NBA announces the selections. Of course, the first minute is just spent saying “Oh yeah! I forgot about the All-Rookie teams!”
While OKC did not see Theo Maledon or Aleksej Pokusevski be tabbed as All-Rookies, there is a good chance Giddey will be.
Mark Daigneault and company are no strangers to giving rookies a veteran workload. Even with all the obstacles the 2020 rookie class faced (no preseason to speak of, no training camp, and no summer league) 19-year-old rookie Theo Maledon led the OKC Thunder in minutes.
Of course, a lot of that was a product of George Hill being traded, SGA being hurt, and the shift to player development this season.
You should expect much of the same with Giddey. The sheer minutes logged will give the NBL product a leg up on the competition.
The 18-year-old will see NBA minutes from game one to game 82, have the leash to fail and succeed, while being placed in an offensive system nearly built specifically for him.
Mark Daigneault has preached since the day he was hired as the next Thunder head coach about the importance of positionless basketball. Having ball-handlers, playmakers, at every spot in the lineup. Shooting 3’s, ball movement, creating for others, crashing the glass to create fastbreaks.
Those are all things Daigneault demands, and Giddey can do. From shot attempts resulting in points, big rebounding numbers at the guard spot, and his elite playmaking ability the Thunder rookie will stuff the stat sheet.
It might not be incredibly efficient, but each column in the box score will be at or near double-digits for Josh Giddey.
To simply be named to an NBA All-Rookie team, that will get the job done. Do you think Giddey will be an All-Rookie honoree?