Since being drafted sixth overall in 2021, Josh Giddey has never come off the bench for the OKC Thunder.
He saw it all — from the Thunder’s 30-point blowout losses to the team’s first Play-In Tournament game where he dropped 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists versus the New Orleans Pelicans.
Since then, however, Giddey has often been a liability on the floor for Oklahoma City. The Aussie guard has been posting career lows this season, averaging 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
His playing time also hit rock bottom this season, only seeing the floor for about 25 minutes per game.
It's safe to say Giddey’s stock plummeted this year.
With teams clearly seeing him as the weakest link in the starting lineup, Giddey has been the vitriolic scapegoat and fallman in almost every Thunder loss. In most cases, these scrutinies have been justified.
While he is a necessary archetype for several schemes within OKC’s offensive playbook — like in the team’s Elbow Actions series — Giddey’s lack of shooting, underwhelming defense, and lackluster offense have brought more harm than good.
Perhaps those were the rationale why head coach Mark Daigneualt has tried having him come off the bench in the second half of games.
Looking at his season as a whole, there seem to be a few specific reasons why Josh Giddey has been a problem for the Thunder.