OKC Thunder: Shifts occur on Intentions week 4 rookie ladder

No. 3 – Josh Giddey, OKC Thunder

A perfect example of a rookie who impacts winning is our very own OKC Thunder point guard Josh Giddey. It’s not just that he’s running the offense Giddey is doing the relevant things that impact winning like grabbing rebounds and snaring steals that lead to easy buckets.

Rookie category rankings:

• Assists: 6.2 – first
• Blocks: 0.6 – tied second
• Steals: 1.2 – third
• Rebounds: 6.6 – third
• Double-Doubles: one (tied third)
• Turnovers: 2.8 – fourth
• Offensive rebounds: 1.5 – fourth
• Field Goals Made: 3.8 – eighth
• Points: 9.0 – tenth
• Field Goal Percent: 37.1%

If Giddey was on the court for the majority of the game and then pulled in late-game situations when locking down the victory was the mandate there could be more of an argument to remove him from the top five because his efficiency needs improvement and he’s not scoring enough.

But that’s not the case as Giddey makes winning plays and gets the rest of his team in the action. Sure Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort did the heavy lifting, but make no mistake without Giddey that four-game win streak doesn’t happen.

In week four the OKC Thunder defeated the Pelicans and Kings then lost to former franchise cornerstone Kevin Durant and his Nets.

Giddey averaged 6.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 0.7 steals.

Certainly, the OKC Thunder hope to see Giddey make strides in his shooting but it’s on the flip side he’s delivering on so many other fronts.

The Australian leads all rookies in assists per game (by a large margin), is tied for second in blocks, third in steals, rebounds, and double-doubles, and ranks top five in seven of the rookie leader categories.