Since picking James Harden with The No. 3 pick in 2009, the Oklahoma Thunder have not had the top ten picks in a decade. So although the Thunder's draw results in the 2021 draft are not satisfactory, it is still exciting to finally have another high pick in hand after many years. And, when you already have a future star like Shay Kyrgyz-Alexander, whom even Chris Paul praised as "extraordinary", the no.6 pick will probably be the core of the new age team. Thunder general manager Presti gave his answer: Josh Gidey.
On Jan. 3, the Oklahoma Thunder played the Dallas Mavericks at home. Thunder rookie Josh Gidey has set a big record. Gidey cut 17 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists to surpass the best rookie of the 2020 class, Ramello Ball, to become the youngest "Mr. Triple-Double" in NBA history.
Ball achieved this feat at age 19 and 140 days, and Gidey was only 19 years old and 84 days old on the day of the race.
On top of the triple-double, he also personally contributed 4 steals. Sadly, for the Thunder, Gidey's performance alone wasn't enough to propel the team to victory. In the end of the game, the Thunder lost to the Lone Ranger 86-95. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Gidy said: "For me, a win is better than any personal data. If I get 0 points, 0 boards and 0 assists and we win, I will be happier than if I lose in three doubles. ”
"I've always been such a player. But well, it's a cool milestone. ”
Losing doesn't make Gidy's historic personal performance lose its luster. After all, counting Gidey and Ball, only four players in NBA history have achieved triple-doubles before their 20th birthday, the other two being Markle Fultz and Luka Doncic.
Before the game, Thunder core guard Kyrgyzstan Alexander was triggered by the NBA health and safety agreement, and Gidey also missed three games because of the trigger health and safety agreement. Rivals the Lone Ranger are the core Luka Doncic, as well as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber return.
With 2:40 left in the fourth quarter, the Thunder trailed by seven points, 83-90. With 40 seconds left in the game, Geddy helped the Thunder, who lacked a major general, to chase the difference to only 4 points, but only 16 seconds later, lone ranger forward Kleber threw a three-pointer for the team, basically locking up the victory. Throughout the game, Doncic had 14 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, and Hardaway had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Doncic, who has recovered from the new crown, although he got a quasi-triple-double in this game, he also made seven mistakes at the same time, which seemed inadequate: "I haven't played an official game for four weeks, and it feels really good to come back." During my infection, I felt like my chest was burning and I felt like my body was very tired and severely lacking in energy. ”
Doncic added: "Back on the field, I still feel a little tired. Especially when shooting shots, some balls I think will definitely score after the shot, but I didn't expect that it ended up being a three-shot. ”
"Sitting in a hotel room and watching the game on TV, it sucked." Gidey said as she recalled her life after covid-19.
Due to the absence of the Thunder's Alexander, Dort, Bezley and many others, Gidey did not have time to find his form through training first, and had to quickly recover in the game. He later said: "At first I felt like I was drunk. "However, by the end of the game he made NBA history.
Of course, this is also thanks to his teammate, Aaron Wiggins, who is also a rookie player, who let Gidey fight for a triple-double.
With four and a half minutes left in the game, Gidey was on the verge of a triple-double when Wiggins snatched a defensive rebound from him. He didn't know at the time that Geddy was only one rebound away from getting a triple-double. Wiggins said: "When I grabbed the rebound and I heard the crowd making noise, I knew it right away. So Wiggins immediately passed the ball to Gidey, hoping that the rebound could be transferred to him. Wiggins explained that when you're playing a game, you don't really notice these things (the data).
"But after I got that rebound, I heard the audience go crazy and I said to him, 'I know you're going to get this.'" There is still a lot of time left. The way he grabbed rebounds, the way he played, was destined to have a triple-double throughout his career. ”
Born on October 10, 2002 in Melbourne, Australia, Both Gidy and Ball played in the Australian NBL League before running for the NBA. Unlike outsiders like Bauer, Gidey is as familiar with the NBL as he is with his own home.
Since birth, he has been surrounded by a group of australian basketball veterans. His father, Warrick Giddey, is a former NBL pro who has won two titles for the Melbourne Tigers and his No. 6 jersey has been retired. Australia's greatest basketball player of all time, Andrew Gates, has also helped Gidey on his basketball path, gates has participated in the Olympic Games 5 times, won the NBL Most Valuable Player seven times, and now the NBL MVP trophy is named after him.
Gidy has shown a high basketball IQ since he was a child, can dribble, pass, organize offense, have a certain projection ability, coupled with his height of 2 meters 03 or even higher, it is not difficult to understand why many NBA scouts are interested in him. This time, Presti's draft vision has once again been affirmed.
Gidey's ability to adapt in the NBA has been questionable, with many seeing his overly thin body size and lack of confrontation, and feeling that his physical fitness is not yet strong enough to play against other stout fronts in the NBA, such as PJ Tucker and Markif Morris, which will make him disappear quickly into the NBA torrent.
Seeing how Gidey is doing today, perhaps Americans need to admit their mistakes again. Gidey has long said: "This league (NBL) is full of physical collisions, always exhausted in the paint, and the referee's scale is very loose. ”
Gidy has started 31 games this season and averaged 11 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game in 30.2 minutes per game. In the game against the Utah Jazz at the end of November, Gidy scored a career-high 19 points, plus 7 rebounds and 8 assists, not only scoring double figures in five consecutive games, but also creating a milestone. He became the third player in NBA history to reach 100 assists and 100 rebounds in the first 20 games of his career, the first two players being LeBron James and Lamelo Ball.
The all-around performance on the field also impressed the Lone Ranger head coach, Jason Kidd, who had a career 107 triple-doubles. Kidd said: "He's an altruistic player. As a 19-year-old, he understands how to play. He's comfortable with the ball, his teammates know it, and if he has the ball, they cut in because they have a chance to get the ball. His three-point shooting is also soft. He has a full set of skill packs. ”
"At the age of 19, it's only a matter of time to understand how the team will use him. He was as good as the propaganda said. Kidd said.