If you are an OKC Thunder fan and not following Josh Giddey on Tik Tok, you are missing out on the most transparent look at one of the top-secret organizations in the entire NBA. The 18-year-old, like everyone else his age, is obsessed with making these quick-hitting videos.
The latest social media craze is best described as a shorter version of youtube that is based around comedy skits mostly, or if you are hip to social media circa the 2010s, it is the same thing as the Vine app with longer videos.
Along with answering fan questions, touring us around the Thunder practice facilities, and making skits, the rookie guard went live on the app on Sunday and revealed a ton to his followers.
OKC Thunder guard Josh Giddey only wanted to come to Thunder
Something they do not teach you in journalism school is that to be a beat reporter you have to spend your Sunday afternoons on your phone in a player’s live stream to deliver the content your followers deserve.
While many of you did not know Tik Tok was a thing, much less you could go live on the app, I hopped in the stream and transcribed it for OKC Thunder fans.
The quote that gained the most traction wasn’t even the most interesting story, it was Giddey saying what he has before “I would not want to play in the NBA if I was not on Oklahoma .”
Josh Giddey "I would not want to play in the NBA if I was not on Oklahoma [City]."
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 19, 2021
The first reaction to this line from Giddey should be “Well, what else is he suppose to say?” However, if you do want to take the quote and add backing to it, it should not be viewed as him saying he just desperately wanted to live in Oklahoma City. While I love the 405, it would sound strange for that to be the context.
The most likely context for this, besides a patronizing nod to Thunder fans, is that he values the organization’s developmental history and views it as a perfect landing spot for an incredibly young, raw guard that needs time to reach his ceiling.
This quote has truly buried the lede, the real story, as Josh Giddey knows, is the fact NBA Twitter folklore Aleksej Pokusevski elbowed the 18-year-old in the eye!
Josh Giddey just said on his Tik Tok live he got an elbow to the eye during practice from Aleksej Pokusevski.
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 19, 2021
The rookie guard also mentioned he loves playing pick-up with Kenrich Williams, said his character on 2k is not good enough and even told the story of why he selected the number 3.
Giddey notes on Draft night number six was not available, the digit he has worn his entire life, so he just wanted the lowest available option and they allowed him to pick between 3 and 10. Which, if you needed it, is confirmation OKC is not re-issuing the number zero as once Westbrook retires it will hang in the rafters forever.
As training camp does not open up until next week, the 6’9 guard ran through a typical day during this time. An early morning lift leads them into a few hours of pick-up basketball then the team has free time before many of the players head back to the facilities at night.