The Oklahoma City Thunder are among the most unstoppable teams in the NBA this season. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a huge reason behind the team’s on-court successes, the team long-time Thunder GM Sam Presti built through its incredible draft capital is also key.
Presti drafted co-stars and solid impact players who play more maturely than their age. With the right influx of veteran presence in the locker room, the Thunder will become more nightmarish as their star players continue to mature.
Josh Giddey is among the team’s key contributors as a secondary contributor. While he doesn’t have the same level of impact as SGA, his willingness to play a different role in the roster has helped cut a successful career for him.
Josh Giddey loves playing physical basketball for the Oklahoma City Thunder
Compared to many NBA guards, Giddey is a tall player at 6’8″. This fact gives Mark Daigenault opportunities to play the Australian in positions other than the backcourt.
While this wasn’t a situation the third-year guard was used to playing before he entered the league, he’s adjusted to the physicality of the game. He even claimed that he’s learned to love playing physical with the league’s bruisers.
He had this to say about his situation with the team, per Thunderous Intentions’ Mark Nilon:
We’ve kind of always had small-ball fives so I’ve had to help out on the boards and defensively guard bigger guys. Over time its naturally increased but I love rebounding. It’s a way to push the break [and] get out on a run, so being in there more you’re going to get hit a bit more and I love those type of plays. Obviously guarding bigs helps with that but just understanding trying to bring a level of physicality that’s contagious and that other guys can kind of follow.
This exposure to physicality helped Josh Giddey become one of the more impressive players on the Oklahoma City Thunder roster. Through 77 games this season, he averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 47.6% shooting, 34.5% from deep, and 79.7% from the free-throw line.
As Giddey matures with the rest of the OKC roster, fans of the Thunder and opposing teams can expect him to become the swiss army knife that will help the Thunder win the biggest games in the future.
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