How a career-defining NBA season has helped Josh Giddey rediscover his ‘enjoyment’ for hoops
He’s having a career best year with the Bulls, Josh Giddey says the NBA trade was the best thing for his love of the game MATT LOGUE writes.
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A career-defining NBA season with the Chicago Bulls has Josh Giddey believing he is better prepared than ever before to lead the Boomers into a bright era.
Giddey concedes he lost his enjoyment for basketball during a challenging campaign with the OKC Thunder last season that led to him being traded.
He didn’t realise it at the time, but in hindsight he says the move to the Bulls was meant to be as it has allowed him to mentally overcome his shooting struggles.
Through hours of hard work, Giddey has taken his game to another level as Chicago’s main offensive man after Zach LaVine’s mid-season trade exit.
“It took a little while for that (enjoyment) to come back, but I guess the change of scenery is what I needed,” Giddey told Code Sports.
“I think just taking on that bigger responsibility at the Bulls is something I’ve wanted as a player all through my junior career, all the way through to the NBA.
“I’ve always embraced that challenge of having to lead a team and when guys go down having to step up.”
Giddey – billed the future face of the Boomers – is busy with his NBA commitments but he always has one eye on the national team.
He is thrilled about Adam Caporn’s appointment as Australian coach given his close connections to the Washington Wizards assistant.
Giddey can’t wait to reconnect with Caporn, vowing to lead by example as the Boomers’ chief playmaking guard.
“Taking a leadership role with this Boomers program is something that I wanted to do,” he said.
“We’re moving towards a new generation and it’s time for me, Dyson (Daniels), Jock Landale, Dante Exum and Josh Green – this new crew that we’ve got to take the reins and keep pushing this program in the right direction.
Josh Giddey & Coby White leading the way in our third straight W. pic.twitter.com/nOm0oz1aMD
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 11, 2025
“Even over the summer when we are not playing or in Boomers camp and getting the guys together just to stay in touch and connected to all the Australians.
“We want to make sure that we haven’t just seen each other for two years and then we come together for a week ahead of a tournament.”
Giddey says Caporn is “one of the smartest” people he has worked with and the perfect choice to usher in a gifted generation of Aussie stars ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
He believes the Western Australian-born mentor possesses the hoops IQ and understanding of the junior pathways to return to the Boomers to the podium.
“I love Capes and I’ve always been a huge fan of his,” he said about Caporn, who coached him at the Centre of Excellence in Canberra.
It’s the three-tier coaching structure that Basketball Australia believes will return the Boomers to the world hoops podium.
— CODE Basketball (@codebballau) March 12, 2025
Code Sports reveals who won the race to coach the men’s national team, and how the format will work, inside.
DETAILS â–¶ï¸ https://t.co/07VI7eCLj3pic.twitter.com/SIyWdSNxQe
“He has got the respect of all the players because he has been around the national team for a long time.
“I’ve had a lot to do with Capes for a number of years and he had me at the institute when I was 15 years old.
“He gives it to you straight and he doesn’t beat around the bush, which is what you want as a player.
“As a kid I probably hated it because I felt like he was a bit harsh on me, but now as an adult you start to appreciate it a lot more.
“He is the right man for the job and I think he is going to be great.”
Giddey has produced a stellar maiden season for Chicago prior to spraining his ankle earlier in the week.
The Melbourne-born guard dropped four consecutive 20-point double-double games since the All-Star break.
Giddey – who expects to return from his ankle injury soon- is putting himself in the perfect position for a pay rise this summer when his rookie contract expires.
Experts are predicting the Boomers star’s annual salary to jump from A$13.3 million and to a whopping A$47 million.
Giddey credits a “ton” of work on his shooting over the summer for his sublime form with the Bulls.
“Coming off the (All-Star break) I’ve gone in and let them fly and I think a lot of it is to do with confidence,” said Giddey, who is averaging 23.1 points and 52.5 per cent from three-point range in his last nine games.
“Once you miss one, two or three, it is just having that confidence to think that fourth one is going in.
“That has been the big thing for me. Repetitions has been huge, but I think a lot of it is mental.”
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Originally published as How a career-defining NBA season has helped Josh Giddey rediscover his ‘enjoyment’ for hoops
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