Throughout his three-year tenure with the OKC Thunder, Josh Giddey regularly showed flashes of serious potential as an all-around player though was never quite able to become that foundational talent Sam Presti and company hoped he'd be when selecting him sixth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
While his reliable ball-handling skills and elite court vision certainly proved valuable, his inability to space the floor on a consistent basis ultimately proved to be the death knell for his time in the Sooner State.
In the end, his services were traded to Chicago this past summer in a one-for-one swap for 3&D wing, Alex Caruso.
At the time, the move was seen as a clear win for the title-hopeful Thunder. After all, they parted ways with a perceived liability in the scoring department in exchange for a trusty two-way veteran with championship experience.
Now, eight months later, the move still appears to have been the right one for OKC to have made, as they boast the second-best record in the entire league at 46-11 while Caruso ranks within the top five on the team in plus-minus and defensive rating out of those who have played in 30 or more games in 2024-25.
However, as the season has progressed, a case has gradually been made that the Bulls may have come away as winners from the transaction as well, especially when considering the fact that they seem to have helped fix perhaps the biggest flaw in Giddey's game.
Josh Giddey shooting at a rate never seen during time with Thunder
Early on into his debut campaign with the Bulls, it was evident that Giddey's shooting struggles had followed him out to the Windy City.
During his first two months of action, the 22-year-old was cashing home on just 31.0 percent of his attempts from distance and capped off the 2024 calendar year by making just 10 of his 44 total attempts in the month of December.
However, since January rolled around, the point guard has seemingly flipped a switch.
Over a 25-game stretch throughout the new year so far, Giddey has been cashing in on a highly efficient 44.2 percent of his attempts from distance on 3.8 attempts per game. More impressive, from February 2 onward he's been averaging 19.8 points per game while shooting 52.2 percent from deep on a whopping 5.1 attempts a night.
To put this into perspective, this success rate through two months into 2025 is superior to even some of the game's most acclaimed snipers like Stephen Curry (37.4), Karl-Anthony Towns (42.3), and Kevin Durant (39.3).
And what has directly aided in this surge in shooting production? Well, according to Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, it's been a result of getting him clean, off-ball looks.
"A lot of them are good catch-and-shoot opportunities in space. He’s really increased his shooting percentage from three," Donovan said.
JOSH GIDDEY IN CRUNCHTIME.@CHSN__ | @JoshGiddey pic.twitter.com/Q5URuDmCjm
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 21, 2025
When with the Thunder, the best success rate Josh Giddey had from beyond the arc was during the 2023-24 season where he converted on just 33.7 percent.
With just about a month and a half remaining in this year's campaign, he finds himself splashing home on 37.0 percent of his attempts while hoisting up 3.9 shots per game, both registering in as career highs.
Though Chicago's win totals may not be benefiting from his highly improved efforts of late (5-10 over last 15 despite Giddey's averages of 17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 47.1 percent shooting from deep), they're undoubtedly getting a better understanding of what they may have in their young, 6-foot-8 Swiss Army Knife guard ahead of this summer's free agency.
At the very least, Josh Giddey's uptick in production from three-point land should help him inch closer to his reported salary desires with his next contract.