OKC Thunder: Should you worry about Josh Giddey’s shooting splits?

The OKC Thunder took a swing at pick-six, selecting Josh Giddey which was met on social media and across NBA Draft experts’ desks with a Bill Simmons level “WHOA!” at the time. No one expected this 18-year-old kid at the time to be the selection at six. Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder organization publicly flirted with James Bouknight, Jonathan Kuminga was a lock for the top five throughout the entire draft process…until the night of the draft which he fell to pick seven.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fully immersed in this rebuild. They have their best coach in franchise history in place, a bonafide star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and a plethora of interesting young prospects with a ton of potential. That is not to mention the historic draft assets Sam Presti still hordes.

Should OKC Thunder fans be worried about Josh Giddey’s shooting splits?

For the first time since selecting James Harden, Presti got a top-ten crack again in the 2021 NBA Draft, and so far it looks like his big swing has paid off. Josh Giddey is ranked as the fourth-best rookie in NBA.com’s rookie ladder, has an elite trait that has already translated via his passing, and has shown an ability to impact winning.

Fans, rightfully so, are fawning all over Josh Giddey at every turn. He has it all; The fun personality, the insightful and entertaining interviews, an amazing social media presence on Tik Tok, and the incredible highlights oftentimes via passes that were dazzling and jaw-dropping but led to no points thanks to his teammates not cashing in.

The only way to be critical of the Australian point guard is via his shooting splits through his first 13 games as an NBA player. He averages 28 minutes per game as a starter in all 13 contests, nine points, six assists, six rebounds, a steal, and half a block per game. Those assist numbers should be around the 8-10 range. Giddey has true triple-double potential near-nightly with how the 6’8 guard rebounds and distributes the ball.

However, his shooting splits are poor, shooting 37-percent from the floor, and 25-percent from deep while also only turning in 61-percent from the floor (one attempt per game). Around the rim, Giddey shoots 44-percent, in the mid-range area (shots he mostly creates for himself) he turns in a 43-percent field goal percentage, and in the corner from three-point land his percentages leap to 36-percent.

Should this be concerning for OKC Thunder fans? He only shot 30-percent from deep in the NBL, is this becoming a trend for the youngster?

It is far too early to worry about any trends, or shooting percentages from Giddey. There have been moments where he looks shaky as a shooter and moments his shot is on that night. Let’s allow him to grow for an NBA offseason or two before we judge his jumper. Giddey will put the work in, and then let’s see where he is at.

Beyond just the upside and youth argument, it is extremely common to see rookies not be efficient. This does not lock him into being only a Ricky Rubio caliber player I would go as far as to say he leans closer to Hall of Famer, ten-time all-star, NBA Champion, and one of the top 75-players of all time, Jason Kidd.

In his career, Kidd shot 40-percent from the floor, 34-percent from three, and 78-percent at the line. The key facilitator shot 27-percent from deep his rookie season (79 games, 33 minutes per game) on 38-percent from the floor. From 1994-1997, Kidd turned in .38/.32/.69 shooting splits before posting 39-percent from the floor, 37-percent from three, and 82-percent at the line from 2007-2013. That stretch included four All-Star nods and an NBA Championship.

Jason Kidd posted a career average of 12-points, six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals per game and had a 1,391 game career. This is a lofty goal for the now 19-year-old first-year player but Giddey has been that impressive as a rookie despite his bad shooting splits on the surface.

Between the floater in the lane that he seems to be able to generate any time he wants to, the fact that when he is on the floor, the OKC Thunder three-point percentage leaps from 26-percent to 35-percent thanks to his offensive facilitation, his impressive mid-range numbers, and the upside from beyond the arc, I am the least bit concerned about Giddey’s offensive game.