Dad Warrick on Josh Giddey’s NBA playoff debut, challenging six months
Josh Giddey has ridden a season of tumult with the OKC Thunder. Yet as his NBL legend dad Warrick tells MATT LOGUE, he’s primed for his first playoff campaign with the help of some home cooking.
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Warrick Giddey wasn’t surprised to see his NBA star son stare down adversity and come out the other side a better person and player for the experience.
The past six months have been life altering for Australian basketball’s brightest young prospect, Josh Giddey.
From a dropped police investigation into unfounded allegations of an improper relationship with an underage girl to the constant boos and catcalls from the crowds that followed, Giddey was thrust into an unfortunate spotlight.
Throw in trade talk at the OKC Thunder amid the guard’s battling form and changing role within the team – and the young talent has been faced with countless hurdles.
Unsurprising to his father, Giddey has come out the other side to finish the NBA season on the youngest team in league history to claim a No. 1 seed while he has dropped career-high numbers from three-point range (33.7 per cent).
The rising Australian Boomer and Paris Olympic certainty is now preparing to play in his first NBA playoff appearance for the Thunder on Monday morning from 11.30am (AEST). The Thunder will play the New Orleans Pelicans, meaning a match up with fellow Aussie and former NBA Global Academy teammate Dyson Daniels.
His chuffed father, Warrick, will be courtside in Oklahoma City after flying across from Australia to see his son play on the NBA’s biggest stage after displaying what he describes as an “in-built” doggedness to defy hardship.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Giddey senior told Code Sports while waiting at the airport lounge in Hawaii on his way to Oklahoma City via Los Angeles.
“To have the opportunity to come over to the US to watch his games. To put it into perspective, he is in the starting five in the NBA’s second ranked team, so it’s in the whole world in a sense.
“That is pretty special.
“If he was starting in the worst team, you’d be just as proud, but the fact he has been able to contribute towards the team as one of the starters, we just find phenomenal and amazing.”
Warrick has also come armed with what he believes will be Giddey’s secret weapon for post-season success.
It’s a tradition that dates back to the family’s time together in Melbourne and is recreated whenever dad comes to town.
“Poached eggs and bacon,” he said, laughing.
“It’s a great chance for me to go over so Josh can get that for breakfast. That’s what he gets when dad is there, so it feels like he is back home in a sense.
“It is just good to bring him back to earth, not that we lose him, but it’s great to have the family around and be able to hang out and live life like we did in Melbourne.
“He texts me in the morning and says are we right for eggs and bacon at 10.30am. I always try and say that is why he is playing better.”
Giddey is set to feature prominently in the post-season for OKC, but flashback to November and he had a slow start to this third NBA season.
He posted career-lows across the board in his first 10 games this NBA season – including averaging 12 points per contest on 41 per cent shooting from the field and 21 per cent from three-point range, 5.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists. His minutes (28.3) were also slightly down from his 31.3 career average, while he regularly got benched down the stretch by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
Giddey also had to deal with falling down OKC’s offensive pecking order behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the improving Jalen Williams and the return from injury of former No. 3 pick Chet Holmgren.
It meant the young Aussie had to become accustomed to playing without the ball, while receiving less minutes.
His form dip also prompted speculation he could be traded from OKC to a rival NBA club.
Watching from afar, Giddey senior could see the positives of his son’s new role playing out before his eyes.
“They (the Thunder) know what he can do with the ball in his hands, but I think he has significantly improved his game without the ball,” said Warrick, who played 449 NBL games for the Melbourne Tigers and Illawarra Hawks.
“I was highly critical of Josh as a junior and that part of his game, but I feel like he has improved every year by thinking, ‘what can I do off the ball to impact the game?’
“Jalen and Shai have had the ball in their hands more this season, but I think that has been a good thing for Josh to work on.
“And when you look at the stats and the 48 minute game, he is just as valuable.
“It has been less minutes for him this season, but the team is winning.”
Giddey senior credits Oklahoma City’s stunning 57-25 season to the “fantastic people” at the franchise from top to bottom.
He pinpointed Thunder’s executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti and coach Mark Daigneault for setting a powerful precedent for success.
“Even the camaraderie between the team and the community, it’s a special thing that I’m seeing,” he said.
“It is absolutely amazing.
“It’s not only thanks to Sam for selecting those guys, but the head coach and obviously the players.
“I think the club got caught on the hop – they didn’t think they would be this successful this quickly.
“It’s a testament to the entire program.”
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