OKC Thunder: Giddey stays in top 5 of TI’s week 3 rookie ladder

No. 3 – Josh Giddey, OKC Thunder

Rookie category rankings:

• Assists: 5.9 – first
• Steals: 1.4 – second
• Rebounds: 6.1 – third
• Offensive rebounds: 1.2 – fourth
•  Double-Doubles: one (fourth)
• Blocks: 0.7 – fourth
• Field Goals Made: 4.2 – sixth
• Points: 10.1 – eighth
• Field Goal Percent: 40.4%

With the OKC Thunder in a rebuild (tanking) mode the team doesn’t get much shine on the national stage. If the team or a player was mentioned invariably it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the ascending star, the defensive prowess of Luguentz Dort or a discussion on the horde of draft picks the OKC Thunder has in their possession.

Those three items remain in the mix although after SGA the next most discussed player is rookie Josh Giddey. I’ve lost track of how many podcasts discuss rookies and while my top two and the last player garner most of the segment invariably Giddey’s name comes up.

Podcasters opine on how mad other teams must be they slept on Giddey (Magic, Rockets), how surprised they are by his skill set, grit, and inability to be sped up, or how Presti can switch his attention to building the frontcourt now with the backcourt set for the future.

The OKC Thunder are winning games they probably shouldn’t but it’s hard to be upset with the youngsters being competitive. That said, at 19 there is so much room for Giddey’s game to grow and expand.

Week three Josh Giddey delivered by orchestrating the offense and working in conjunction with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. While SGA was hitting step-back logo 3-pointers and throwing his hat in the Most Improved Player conversation Giddey was dishing dimes and playing with a maturity beyond his 19 years.

In his three games, he averaged nine points, 6.7 rebounds (1.7 on the offensive glass), 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 block.  More importantly, that resulted in two wins including another double-digit comeback versus the Lakers and their first back-to-back wins of the season with the victory against the Spurs.

The three areas Intentions would like to see the Australian focus on is his shooting (and looking for his own shot more), the defensive end of the floor and most importantly hooking up SGA more for easy baskets.

Giddey has such great floor vision and passing skills and with Gilgeous-Alexander being a lethal shooter it only seems logical this pair will improve with time. For now, we’d be happy if Giddey just looks for him more or if Daigneault creates a few playsets that capitalize on this dynamic duo.

I’ve ranked Giddey third ahead of Wagner and Duarte.  Although he trails that duo in scoring he ranks first in assists, second in steals, and ahead of both in rebounds.

More importantly, the OKC Thunder guard is relied more heavily on to impact winning and making his teammates better. That on its own might push him ahead but the fact he’s ranking so high on numerous areas makes it a no-brainer (even if I am biased).