Teen basketball sensation Josh Giddey is now a $6 million man

Young basketball sensation Josh Giddey wasn’t the most skilled kid on the court but with focus and determination he’s now the $6 million man, writes Cydonee Mardon.

He’s a basketball legend in his own right, teaming up with Andrew Gaze in some of the most memorable games in NBL history, though Warrick Giddey is the first to admit he’s got nothing on his “young bloke”.

In just one year, 19-year-old Josh has earned more money than his dad – or most other dads for that matter – can even dream of earning in a lifetime. And now the teen sensation has the surreal experience of playing “himself” when he sits down to a game of NBA 2K on his PlayStation console.

“We’re blowing out like everyone else, like it’s someone else’s kid, it’s so surreal,” Warrick Giddey says of his son’s success and starring role for the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team.

“He went from not making a state team his whole juniors to being the best player in the country for his age for a year when he was 17.”

Josh, currently the 5th best-paid player of the Oklahoma City Thunder this year and on a salary of $6,287,400 is an example, his dad says, of what can happen when teenagers dare to dream and then “work their butts off”.

Young basketball sensation Josh Giddey. Picture: Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images

“The big thing is you’ve got to take adversity in your stride, not everything is going to be laid out for you. If you want something you work hard for it, keep persisting,” Giddey says.

“Millions of kids want to play in the NBA, and only half a dozen will ever do it, but dream big, be one of those kids.”

Giddey says Josh was never the fastest or most skilled kid on the court “but he knows his deficiencies and he’s not scared of hard work”.

His methodical approach and IQ for the game has silenced his harshest critics – and all those junior coaches who overlooked him for all those years.

“Josh wasn’t that outstanding an athlete but his intelligence for the game was off the charts from a young age. It’s something a lot of coaches didn’t recognise,” Giddey explains.

“You don’t have to be an extremely athletic individual or a deadeye dick shooter, he did a lot of things well, nothing outstandingly well, but he read the game and understood the game better than most.

Josh is currently the 5th best-paid player of the Oklahoma City Thunder this year. Picture: Ian Maule/Getty Images

“Sometimes that’s hard for coaches to identify. A good player makes people around them look better.”

Some would say Josh has had the best of the best coaches throughout his junior club years, his dad and the former Australian Boomer who played 22 NBL seasons, won the league’s Most Valuable Player seven times and won the scoring title 14 times – Andrew Gaze.

“He’s had me and Drewy right through his rep years and we are continually telling our players about team basketball,” Giddey says.

“When you get to the NBA you can dribble 500 times and not pass to anyone, you’ve earned that right. But I’m one of those coaches that if a kid looks past every open teammate and hits a three pointer, and the crowd cheers, when he comes off say, ‘Good shot, mate, but wrong choice’.”

Giddey, best known in basketball circles as Wazza, played the game just the way he coaches it. He was a different breed of NBL player, excelling at all the things that don’t show up on the score sheet.

Gaze once described Wazza as the “heart and soul of the team” while US-born NBL legend Lanard Copeland said, “Warrick Giddey was the glue for us”.

Josh with his sisters Ella, Neve and Hannah.

“He is the most unselfish basketball player I’ve played with in my entire life and I’ve played with a lot of guys.”

Giddey himself shrugs off praise – more at ease telling you how he was never a great shooter, so he shifted his focus to things he could do well, like passing and defending – and getting the ball to sharp shooter Gaze.

His “blue collar” approach to the game, and life, having come from the NSW mining town of Coalcliff in the Illawarra before moving to Wollongong, has helped him appreciate everything he has and his attitude has rubbed off on his 206cm (six foot nine) teenager.

“When Josh reached Under 16s, he knew he wouldn’t get much court time in the Division One team, he’d be the ninth or 10th man off the bench, so he had a decision to make,” explains his dad.

“Josh knew he would get more time in Division Two to develop his game. He cared more about that than the prestige of playing in Division One.

“So I told him he had to pick up the phone himself and ring (coach) Drewy (Gaze).

“So Drewy gets a call from 14-year-old Josh who explained his decision.”

That decision proved pivotal in Josh’s development. His second tier team made it all the way to the finals in the Victorian State Championships. They narrowly lost against their own Division One team.

“That was such a great development year for Josh and the rest of the boys. He got the chance to lead them,” Giddey senior recalls.

Josh with dad Warrick after winning gold medal for Victoria.

Pictured with his Melbourne tigers under 18 team mates in 2019.

In the following years Josh was getting “a bit disillusioned” about not making major rep sides and was tossing up whether to quit basketball to focus on his footy.

A handy AFL player, reaching an elite level was a serious option but Josh stayed focused and as he grew in height, strength and ability, his game couldn’t be ignored any longer.

He was something special.

Josh scored himself a spot in the NBA Global Academy, a training centre at the Australian Institute of Sport and finished his schooling in Canberra.

He helped his academy side win the Torneo Junior Ciutat de L’Hospitalet in Barcelona where he earned the Most Valuable Player Award.

In 2020 he joined the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers then, during the next season, became the youngest player in NBL history to record a triple double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Crowned NBL Rookie of the Year, next it was off to the NBA.

On April 21, 2021, Josh was drafted as the sixth overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The boy from Yarraville is now flying high, mixing it with the world’s best.

“It’s not a different world, it’s a different universe,” his dad says.

Josh poses for a portrait during the 2022 All-Star Media Circuit earlier this year. Picture: Michael J. LeBrecht II /NBAE via Getty Images

“We have our world, then the NBA universe which is completely different. The money is absurd, the lifestyle. It can seem ridiculous, earning more money in one year than people see in a lifetime. But he has great people around him, a great manager, great advisers. We are very lucky.”

Josh has a penchant for “shoes, shoes, shoes” as any young baller who follows his social media would know, and he likes fine clothes, but largely he is looking to invest in property and make wise decisions about his new-found almost instant wealth.

His dad, not the biggest NBA fan, says the superstars have largely been very welcoming and accepting of the young Aussie, with Steph Curry one of the particular nice guys.

“I still pinch myself when I’m over there watching Josh, it’s surreal and probably always will be,” Giddey says.

The future looks stunningly bright for this young superstar who has his dad and mum Kim in the wings, making sure their boy keeps soaring.

“He’s been away from home since he was 16 so he’s grown up pretty quickly,” Giddey says.

“We’ve never tried to hold on to him, it’s a case of letting the bird free and if it doesn’t come back it was never yours.

“We’ve given him his wings and let him go, and we will always be here for him.”