Aussie NBA stars Dyson Daniels, Josh Giddey to face off in thriller

The future of Australian basketball is set to collide when Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels go head-to-head in the NBA for the first time.

The future of Australian basketball will collide on Tuesday AEDT when Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels go head-to-head in the NBA for the first time.

It is a match-up the Victorian guards have dreamed of since they met as state under-12 teammates, and while the pair became close friends on their journey to the top, there will be no love lost when Daniels’ New Orleans Pelicans take on Giddey’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I’m sure when we get out there on the floor together, there’ll be a bit of trash talking,” Daniels said.

Aussie stars Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels are set to go head-to-head in the NBA for the first time. Picture: Getty Images

The game also marks the first NBA meeting between graduates of Australia’s NBA Global Academy, a milestone technical director Marty Clarke said highlighted our status as a rising basketball powerhouse.

Giddey and Daniels spent about a year in the Canberra-based program together on the way to becoming NBA first round picks in successive years.

It was as teammates in a tournament in Spain in 2020 – where Giddey was named as the MVP – that Clarke said the basketball world began to sit up and take notice of his program.

Dyson Daniels plays a key defensive role for the New Orleans Pelicans. Picture: Getty Images

Josh Giddey joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to record triple-doubles during their first two games at Madison Square Garden.

“That was the catalyst for people to say, ‘wow, what’s going on down there?’,” he said.

“I was really pleased for them and a little surprised that they made the step so quickly. Both of them came through here and their plans were really another year here.”

“They both accelerated their development here to such a point that they outgrew the environment and needed more challenges, which is a credit to them.”

After Giddey shone as Oklahoma City’s starting point guard in his rookie season, Daniels put himself into this year’s NBA draft and was snapped up by the Pelicans.

He is now playing a key defensive role off the bench, guarding the league’s top players including Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Ja Morant.

Josh Giddey with his proud dad, Warrick Giddey, who was a long-time player for the Melbourne Tigers.

Dyson Daniels poses for a portrait during the 2022 NBA Rookie photo shoot last July. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s everything I expected. Competition-wise, it’s tough, but I’m taking steps and learning every day,” he said.

“I want to earn my minutes, keep my spot in this rotation and coming off the bench, to be one of the best sixth men in the NBA.”

Clarke said the Victorian youngsters typified the academy’s focus on producing multiskilled players who were also leaders.

“They’re both really fun-loving guys … They’re good in the locker room, they’re good on the court, they can bring the energy up but they’re also very serious about their basketball,” he said.

Aussie player Dyson Daniels, of the New Orleans Pelicans, steals the ball from Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Picture: Getty Images

While Daniels had marked Tuesday’s game on his calendar, he said he was also excited at the prospect of representing his country alongside Giddey, potentially from next year’s World Cup.

“The Boomers is a big aspiration of mine,” he said.

“It’s an exciting time with a few younger guys coming through. Obviously Patty (Mills) and Joe (Ingles) and those guys … they’re still going to be in that squad so it’s going to be tough to make, but I’m looking forward to learning off those guys and playing with some new guys hopefully as well.”

Clarke said he was confident Daniels and Giddey were well placed to lead the next generation of the national team.

“The back-court of the Boomers for the next few years is going to be really good,” he said.

Originally published as Aussie NBA stars Dyson Daniels, Josh Giddey to face off in thriller