The OKC Thunder held their Media Day today with sessions featuring the players. Next, the team will take to the hardcourt as they begin training camp on Tuesday, September 28th. The Thunder will play four preseason games between October 4th and 14th.
On Friday, executive vice president and GM, Sam Presti kicked off the media sessions. Presti touched on the franchise entering their 14th season and discussed individual players on the team. Among those he mentioned was rookie Josh Giddey who wasn’t able to show much in the Summer League because he suffered an injury a little more than five minutes into the first game.
Presti spoke about that situation and as Intentions has also noted, Giddey’s experience in the NBL should pay immediate dividends for the youngster. He’s used to facing grown men and as players like LaMelo Ball have demonstrated the transition to the pros tends to be quicker than their NCAA rivals.
"“He’s doing good. The goal at Summer League, you’d love to see him play. We’re going to learn as much in six days of practice as we would in the summer league, but just being around the guys, getting in a routine, building relationships, getting a sense for how things are done. The one advantage I think Josh has, if we’re looking at a silver lining, is he played in a men’s league the whole year. The competition he was playing against is equal or probably better than the summer league, quite frankly.”"
The bespeckled exec says there is no extra pressure on GIddey stating “once you walk through the doors here you all get treated the same way.”
Sam Presti on pressure on Josh Giddey “I mean, the conversation I have with the players is really simple. People don’t really remember where guys were drafted after the first couple of years. The reason why is the best players don’t go 1, 2, 3, 4”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 24, 2021
For more on Presti’s comments about the teenager, check out Rylan Stile’s article.
The media isn’t writing him off as he’s being included in the mix as a dark horse to win Rookie of the Year. His better chance will be landing on one of the two All-Rookie teams and he’ll be given ample opportunity with so many youngsters on the club.
OKC Thunder rookie Josh Giddey media day quips ‘This is like a dream’
First things first – how’s the ankle:
Josh Giddey “The ankle is good, back for normal, it was frustrating I was looking forward to playing in Summer League, but the medical team and me took the right steps. We made the right decision not going back out there.”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 27, 2021
How he is fitting in with the team the rookie says: “We have a young team, has been good. In practice, I’m the weight room, with the offense, learning the system, they’ve been really good for me.”
On playing with Gilgeous-Alexander:
Josh Giddey on playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “I’m really excited for that. Something I’ll have to get use to, learn how to do so, we are both ball handlers. We will all figure out how to play with each other, learn to play off the ball.”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 27, 2021
In terms of what the rookie expects in his first game and being new to the NBA Giddey notes: “It’s just using practicing as that stepping stone, playing pick up with the guys get used to the flow of the NBA game, I’m putting no expectations on myself just playing my role.” The rookie notes he’ll have an adjustment period (on both sides of the court) but also said his teammates are helping him adjust.
The OKC Thunder rookie guard noted how fast everything is moving fast and how he’s trying to take it all in and just go day by day but is excited and looking forward to it.”
On the difference between NBL and NBA:
Josh Giddey “I can’t really say if it’ll be better I haven’t played in the NBA yet, the spacing will help me, being able to play with a bigger floor and the shooter we do/the NBA does, to make plays for myself and my teammates.”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 27, 2021
On getting to play in OKC with his desired team Giddey says the transition was easy: “I moved out of home when I was like 15, I’m used to it now. My family helped me settle in. My agent is here, he lives in L.A. the transition hasn’t been hard. I haven’t done a whole lot of exploring yet, I’ve been so busy, but I’ve heard all about the food .”
It was impossible to ignore how excited Giddy is to be with the OKC Thunder and this following tweet summed it up perfectly…
Josh Giddey “This is like a dream, we always use to joke about this a year ago, imagine I end up in Oklahoma with Hannah down the road [at ORU] it’s a perfect situation for us. We are all here already. It’s perfect for the family.”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) September 27, 2021
Although he hasn’t played a full game competitively with the Thunder he’s been busy getting ready for the season and inked a shoe deal with Nike. He also took an elbow to the eye from Aleksej Pokusevski in practice.
Thunder Nation was eager to hear from the top pick by Sam Presti this past summer. Although it wasn’t a secret he only wanted to be selected by the OKC Thunder, hearing him vocalize it really drove home the point. The rookie hasn’t played a single minute yet but he’s already earned a fan baes in Brick City.