OKC Thunder: ESPN include Josh Giddey in the mix for ROY

When Sam Presti selected Josh Giddey with the sixth pick many were surprised. For weeks the pundits had the OKC Thunder selecting James Bouknight and possibly taking a swing for Jonathan Kuminga.

Our Intentions mock draft ranked him seventh as I was higher on him than most. Then Summer League came and OKC Thunder fans didn’t get to see much of him because he tweaked his ankle five minutes into the Vegas summer showcase.

With the roster containing so many young players including three of the four rookies selected this summer. Factor in the two rookies from 2020 Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon (now sophomores) will also return.

Mark Daigneault will have an extremely young team. this season Thunder captain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just turned 23 on July 12th  Giddey is the youngest at 18 years old and won’t’ turn 19 until October 10th.  Eight others range between the ages of 19 and 22 years old.

ESPN panel gives OKC Thunder rookie Giddey a long shot to contend for ROY

The ESPN expert panel voted on the players most likely to win awards and the Rookie of the Year category drew expected votes for the top draft picks. The surprises perhaps weren’t who the panel voted for but the placement.

Each of the top six picks (including OKC Thunder – Giddey) got at least a single vote. Jalen Green took the top spot (75 points) rather comfortably in front of the youngster selected ahead of this summer (Cade Cunningham  – 58 points). That duo represented all first-place votes.

Second and third place votes made up the other five vote recipients with Jalen Suggs (17 points) solidly in third, Evan Mobley (6 points) fourth, Scottie Barnes (4 points) in fifth. Giddey was joined by ninth overall pick Davion Mitchell tied for sixth with a single vote each.

Though Cunningham was the No. 1 overall pick, he’s edged out in this poll by No. 2 pick Green. Green and Cunningham both had strong summer league performances, as did the rest of this deep field.

No doubt all of the youngsters were impacted by strong Summer League performances which begs the question of how much higher Giddey would have placed had he been able to play more in Vegas.

With time spent playing in the NBL for the Adelaide 36ers Giddey should have an easier transition to the NBA as will Green who spent last season with the G-League Ignite.

Most of the top picks will have the advantage of garnering ample playing time and many will also likely start. Typically there are a few prospects who leap up to contend for the top prize but the depth of this class was so impressive it’s likely the main contenders will be in the top handful of picks.