OKC Thunder Josh Giddey dips in week 7 national rookie rankings

The rookie ladder for most of the pundits took some significant swings in week seven and OKC Thunder point guard Josh Giddey experienced some slippage in the process.

The Australian played in only one game due to illness and as most of the writers below noted that was a good thing given one game he missed (the Grizzlies 73 point rout of the Thunder).

What some failed to mention is it’s very likely the reason for that rout had to do with the absence of the rookie and his backcourt partner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (and others).

OKC Thunder guard Giddey dips in week 7 rookie rankings

Last week Giddey ascended some weekly ladders with the nod for him winning Rookie of the Month (October/November) in the West.

This week he takes a tumble falling off one list completely. Check out how Giddey did in week seven below.

NBA – Steve Aschburner

Like John Schuhmann’s power rankings, writer Steve Aschburner is the article fans covet most when it comes to weekly rookie rankings.

While some cut Josh Giddey off their ladder completely, like Intentions Aschburner recognizes there is more to the RoY race than scoring. As such the OKC Thunder guard remained fifth on his list despite only playing one game and not having a great shooting night.

Aschburner’s comments on Giddey are below and his full week seven rookie ladder article can be viewed via his link.

"Played just once in this Ladder period, due to the flu. Mercifully that kept him out of the Thunder’s embarrassing 73-point loss to Memphis. Giddey’s passing continues to delight — he tops all rookies with 121 assists, 38 more than Cunningham, with 10 fewer turnovers (59) than his Pistons’ counterpart. He was named the Western Conference’s Rookie of October/November in a 2021 Class dominated so far by East newcomers."

CBS – Jasmyn Wimbish:

Writer Jasmyn Wimbish dropped Josh Giddey out of her top 10 completely in week seven (he was third last week). And while that’s disappointing she did give some shine to another OKC Thunder rookie Tre Mann who Wimbish ranks ninth.

For her complete CBS week seven, rookie rankings click here.

"After that barn-burning game the Thunder played against the Grizzlies in which Memphis beat OKC by an NBA-record 73 points, Mann responded by having a far better performance in a win over the Pistons. It’s hard to fault Mann for that embarrassing loss to the Grizzlies when he’s not used to being a starter and has split time this season with the G League. But in a more comfortable role where he’s coming off the bench, he is more impactful, which resulted in a seven-point, three-rebound performance for the rookie."

Hoops Habit – Corey Rausch:

Although Giddey drops two spots in week seven on Corey Raush’s list he remains in the top five. Last week Rausch also included Jeremiah Robinson-Earl in this top-five and notes how harsh the 73 points loss to the Grizzlies was to JRE specifically.

A portion of Rausch’s excerpt on Giddey follows but to view it in its entirety and the Hoops Habit week seven rookie ladder click here.

"Giddey will not see his advanced stats tanked by that brutal margin. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who made this list just a week ago, walked away from the game with a mind-blowing -56 plus/minus in the box score. Giddey (and obviously Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) getting back on the court will make the product look better for the team."

Intentions list:

Week seven wasn’t his best of this season but Josh Giddey stayed on Intentions rookie ladder based on all the “extras” he brings to the hardcourt. Oddly, his absence in the brutal loss to the Grizzlies also played a role in him staying in the top five.

To pursue the full week seven Intentions rookie ladder, click here.

"I was torn this week with regard to Josh Giddey who has performed well all season and even in poor shooting weeks he was delivering everywhere else (assists, rebounds, steals). In week seven he got the flu so played in just one of the three games scoring only two points on 1 of 9 from the field and had two turnovers.Call it bias, or whatever you like but what saved him was the other ditties against Houston – seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. It’s likely he was already feeling the effects of the flu as well so I took that into consideration.Rookie category rankings:Assists: 5.8 – firstDouble-Doubles: threeRebounds: 7.2 – thirdTurnovers: 2.8 – thirdOffensive rebounds: 1.6 – fourthBlocks: 0.7 –  tied fourthSteals: 1.0 – tied seventh"

Ultimately,  Josh Giddey held his place in the top quintet despite only playing in one game and while he fell off one writer’s list his performance this past week is likely to find him back on her list next week.