The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Josh Giddey with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and that night the selection was met with mass confusion despite the revisionist history. Giddey proved his value by ripping off each Western Conference Rookie of the Month award he was eligible for.
The guard became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double and made even more history by becoming the youngest player in league history to log a 15-plus assist triple-double when he helped lift the Oklahoma City Thunder past the defending Champion Warriors on Tuesday night in the Paycom Center.
Josh Giddey continues to show his value in a historic game against the Golden State Warriors to cap off an impressive stretch.
Fans have ridden the rollercoaster with Josh Giddey this season, as he started the year on a bit of a cold streak before going through stretches of action where he looks like a star. Over the last four games of the Thunder home stand, Josh Giddey averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists while shooting 55 percent from the floor, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and under three turnovers per tilt.
Against the Golden State Warriors, in one of the best wins of the season for the OKC Thunder, Josh Giddey stepped up to post 17 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds. That marked the third triple-double of Giddey’s season and the seventh for his young career.
Josh Giddey dished out a career-high 17 assists tonight in the Thunder W ⛈️
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2023
17 PTS, 11 REB, 17 AST
He's the youngest player in NBA history to drop a 15+ AST triple-double 👀 pic.twitter.com/7a4kJ4IdAa
This season, Josh Giddey is shooting 42 percent from the mid-range while improving his rim-finishing up to 64 percent (and trending in the right direction with the eye test as we wait for the stats to come around). He is even shooting an impressive 38 percent on corner triples. Overall, according to cleaning the glass, his three-point shooting has seen a five percent increase.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is playing like an All-NBA player, Jalen Williams looks like the steal of the draft, and Chet Holmgren is still waiting in the wings, Josh Giddey ties together a special core that Sam Presti is building.