At the start of the 2025-26 season, it seemed as if former OKC Thunder guard Josh Giddey was breaking out into legitimate stardom with the Chicago Bulls.
Through the first two months of action, the point guard found himself posting ridiculous averages of 19.2 points, 9.0 assists, and 8.9 rebounds on 46.6 percent shooting from the floor and 38.6 percent shooting from deep.
Unfortunately, injuries and on-court inconsistencies eventually halted this scorched-earth start and directly aided in his plummet back down to earth during the second half of the campaign, which, sadly, now finds Chicago coming to a painful realization about Giddey that served as the primary reason for why the Thunder ditched him in the first place.
Outside of his distribution skills, he's a borderline offensive liability.
Josh Giddey's offensive struggles with Thunder now resurfacing on Bulls
The second-half numbers tell a completely different tale compared to the first.
After his tremendous 30-game start, Giddey's offensive production, particularly in the scoring department, seemingly fell off a cliff in his final 24 outings on the year, as he went on to register a mere 14.3 points per game on just 42.0 percent shooting from the floor and 34.1 percent shooting from deep.
Perhaps most astounding of all was his drop-off in off-the-catch shooting, as he went from cashing in on 41.0 percent from deep and boasting an overall effective field goal percentage of 61.4 percent on such attempts to an abysmal 34.6 percent and 52.4 percent, respectively.
Without question, these latter metrics are incredibly reminiscent of his efficiency while with the Thunder (shot at a 31.0 percent clip from deep and just 34.4 percent in catch-and-shoot scenarios throughout his OKC tenure), which, as fans are well aware, was a major factor in Sam Presti and company opting to part ways with him.
Unlike his stint with Oklahoma City, where he was still attached to his rookie-scale deal, the Bulls are in no position to part ways with him any time soon, as they just signed the 23-year-old to a four-year, $100 million guaranteed contract last summer.
On top of this, following their recent front-office purge, it's not as if Chicago has the brain trust required to even attempt such a complex move.
The simple reality is that after finishing with the fourth-worst record in the East at 31-51, all the Bulls can now do is try to find the pieces necessary to make up for their hoped-for franchise point guard's offensive inabilities.
Despite all of his elite intangibles, Giddey's lack of efficiency in the scoring department severely hinders his upside as a player.
It took the Thunder three years to figure this out for themselves. Now, come the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, it seems the Bulls are coming to this same realization in year two.
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