Joshua James Giddey (born 10 October 2002) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He was selected by the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

with the sixth overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

. Giddey is the youngest player in NBA history to record a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

, having done so at 19 years, 84 days old. He also became the first rookie since Hall of Famer

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

in 1961 to record three consecutive triple-doubles.

Early life and career

Giddey was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to professional basketball players. His father, Warrick, played basketball and was a longtime player for the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

in Australia. His mother, Kim, played for the Tigers in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

. Giddey grew up in Yarraville and attended St Kevin's College in

from Years 7 to 10, before emerging as one of Australia's top basketball prospects with the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He attended UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra alongside his full-time training at the AIS. At the Australian Under-18 Championships in April 2019, Giddey averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and six assists per game, leading VIC Metro to the title. In January 2020, Giddey helped the NBA Global Academy win the Torneo Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he earned

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) honors. In the following month at NBA All-Star Weekend in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, he took part in

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

and was named an all-star of the camp.

Professional career

Adelaide 36ers (2020–2021)

On 12 March 2020, Giddey signed with the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a part of the league's Next Stars program to develop

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

prospects, and he became the first Australian player to be a part of the program. Giddey turned down offers from several

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

programs, including

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. On 26 April 2021, he recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 93–77 loss to the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

, becoming the youngest Australian in NBL history to record a

. In the 36ers' next game against the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

on 1 May, he became the first ever Australian to record a triple-double in consecutive games, finishing with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a 101–79 win. He had a third triple-double on 9 May in a 97–88 overtime win over the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

, finishing with 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Giddey was released from the active playing roster on 17 May to prepare for the

, and finished the season averaging 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 7.6 assists per game in 28 games played. He was selected as the NBL Rookie of the Year.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2021–2024)

On 27 April 2021, Giddey declared for the

, where he was projected to be a lottery pick. On 29 July, he was drafted as the sixth overall pick by the

, and on 8 August, Giddey signed a contract with the Thunder. That same day, he suffered an ankle injury five minutes into his

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

debut and was ruled out for the rest of the competition as a precautionary measure. On 20 October, Giddey made his NBA debut, putting up four points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a 107–86 loss to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. On 27 October, Giddey recorded his first double-double with 18 points and 10 assists in a 123–115 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, while also becoming the third-youngest player to record at least 10 assists in a game, behind only

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

, who did so twice. Giddey was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October/November. On 26 December 2021, Giddey became the second player in NBA history, after

Norm Van Lier Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls. Early life Norman Van Lier was born on April ...

, to record a scoreless double-double, as he compiled ten assists and ten rebounds in the Thunder's 117–112 win over the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. Giddey was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December. On 2 January 2022, Giddey became the youngest-ever player to record a triple-double, with 17 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds in a 95–86 loss to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, surpassing the previous record set by

LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball ( ; born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draf ...

. Giddey was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in January and again in February, winning the award four consecutive times. On 27 March, Giddey was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to hip soreness, and finished the season averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting .419, .263 and .709 from the field, the three-point line and on free throws, respectively, with four triple-doubles. In addition, he was the sole rookie to tally at least 500 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists. On 10 January 2023, in a game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, Giddey joined

Luka Dončić Luka Dončić ( ; ; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since his rookie season, he has been selected to five NBA All-Star games and fiv ...

Ben Simmons Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, a ...

and

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

as the only players in NBA history to record at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists in their first 100 career games. On 15 January, Giddey scored a season-high 28 points along with nine rebounds and assists, leading Oklahoma City to a 112–102 win over the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. On 12 April, during the

NBA play-in tournament The NBA play-in tournament is the preliminary National Basketball Association (NBA) postseason tournament. It determines the final two playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference and is played immediately prior to the NBA pl ...

, Giddey recorded 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a 123–118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, advancing the Thunder to the eighth-seed game. On 11 January 2024, Giddey logged 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in 22 minutes against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to post a triple-double on 100% field-goal accuracy in under 25 minutes.

Chicago Bulls (2024–present)

On 21 June 2024, Giddey was traded to the

in exchange for guard Alex Caruso. On 2 December 2024, Giddey put up a triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 128–102 win over the

. On 28 December, he put up a triple-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a 116–111 win over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He also became the first player in Bulls franchise history since

Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Te ...

to record multiple games with triple-doubles in a season. On 8 March, he recorded his third triple-double of the season with 26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 114–109 victory against the

. On 22 March, Giddey recorded a near

quadruple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assist ...

(the last quadruple-double was achieved in 1994) with 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds, and a career-high eight steals in a 146–115 win over the

. On 27 March, Giddey put up a triple-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and hit a buzzer-beating game-winner from half court in a 119–117 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. This was Giddey's 5th triple-double of the season and he joined

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

as the only Bulls in franchise history to have 5+ triple-doubles in a single season. On 9 April, in a 119-111 win over the

, Giddey had 28 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists while tallying his 7th triple-double of the season. Giddey also joined Michael Jordan and

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with th ...

as the only Bulls players to have seasons with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.

National team career

Junior national team

Giddey represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at the 2019

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

Under-17 Oceania Championship in

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. He averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and five assists per game and was named to the All-Star Five after leading his team to a gold medal. In the final against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, he collected 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in an 85–56 win.

Senior national team

On 23 February 2020, Giddey made his debut for the Australia national basketball team during

2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification The 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualification was a basketball competition that was played from February 2018 to August 2021, to determine the fifteen FIBA Asia-Oceania nations who would join the automatically qualified host Indonesia at the 2022 FIBA Asi ...

. He recorded 11 points, six assists and three rebounds in 11 minutes, helping Australia defeat

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, 115–52. Giddey became the youngest player to play for the senior team since

in 2013. Giddey was one of the final cuts from the Australian basketball team roster for the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and was instead selected as one of three emergency players. Giddey represented Australia in the

2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

and averaged 19.4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He was recognised as the FIBA Basketball World Cup Rising Star.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 54 , , 54 , , 31.5 , , .419 , , .263 , , .709 , , 7.8 , , 6.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 76 , , 31.1 , , .482 , , .325 , , .731 , , 7.9 , , 6.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , 16.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 25.1 , , .475 , , .337 , , .806 , , 6.4 , , 4.8 , , .6 , , .6 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 69 , , 30.2 , , .465 , , .378 , , .781 , , 8.1 , , 7.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 14.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 280 , , 279 , , 29.3 , , .464 , , .330 , , .764 , , 7.5 , , 6.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , 14.1

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 8 , , 18.1 , , .453 , , .353 , , .875 , , 3.6 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , .4 , , 8.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 10 , , 8 , , 18.1 , , .453 , , .353 , , .875 , , 3.6 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , .4 , , 8.7

NBL

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, 28 , , 26 , , 32.1 , , .425 , , .293 , , .691 , , 7.3 , , 7.6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 10.9

Personal life

Giddey's sister, Hannah, played forward for two years for the

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles are the sixteen college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oral Roberts University, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athle ...

, and then played the 2022–23 season for

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a Private university, private Church of the Nazarene, Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions ...

Bethany, Oklahoma Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Bethany has a population of 20,831 at the 2020 census, a 9.3% increase from 2010. The community was founded in 1909 by followers o ...

. In November 2023, an anonymous social media user accused Giddey of having an improper relationship with an underage girl when Giddey was 19 years old. The user said the posted photos and videos depicted Giddey, then 19, with a girl who was a junior in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. The posts were later deleted, and the social media account was deactivated. On 24 November, the NBA opened an investigation on the matter. Both Giddey and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault declined to comment. On 29 November, the

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

Police Department announced that it was conducting an active investigation into "an alleged relationship between professional basketball player Josh Giddey and a female minor". The girl's family retained the services of lawyer

Gloria Allred Gloria Rachel Allred ( Bloom; born July 3, 1941) is an American attorney known for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving feminist causes. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Ea ...

. When the Newport Beach Police Department became involved with the investigation, NBA commissioner

Adam Silver Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who is serving as the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the ...

stated that he would take a "backseat" to allow for law enforcement to do their due diligence. A report from CODE Sports on the matter published that the evidence highly suggested that the girl lied about her age to gain access to the nightclub that she interacted with Giddey in. On 17 January 2024, Newport Beach Police Department announced that Giddey would not be facing any charges, due to there being no corroborating evidence. Allred stated that she was unsurprised that the case had been dropped, as the girl and her parents had declined to speak to law enforcement to protect their privacy. The NBA closed its investigation on 23 May 2024, concurring with the police investigation's conclusion that they had been "unable to corroborate any criminal activity" by Giddey.

References

External links

NBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giddey, Josh 2002 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century Australian sportsmen Adelaide 36ers players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Melbourne Chicago Bulls players NBA players from Australia Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Olympic basketball players for Australia People educated at Lake Ginninderra College Point guards Shooting guards Sportsmen from Victoria (state)