NBA star Josh Giddey has reacted to brutal comments on a Chicago Bulls post

Bulls guard Josh Giddey has had a devastating response to an Instagram post from his new NBA club that quickly blew up.

Josh Giddey has had a devastating reaction to a series of social media comments directed his way on what should have been a happy day for the young Aussie star.

Giddey is preparing for his first season with the Chicago Bulls, following his blockbuster trade from Oklahoma City for guard Alex Caruso back in June.

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The trade brought to a close Giddey’s mostly successful four years with the Thunder, after they took him with the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Sadly, the Victorian’s stint in OKC will also be remembered for the police investigation that erupted in November 2023 after Giddey was linked with an underage female.

The alleged incident had occurred way back in 2021 and Giddey was ultimately cleared and no action was taken after Newport Beach Police and the NBA conducted independent investigations.

Josh Giddey has reacted to an avalanche of comments on social media. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Despite the book being closed on the allegations, the 203cm guard was subjected to boos and jeers from opposition crowds whenever the Thunder played on the road last season, while he was also mercilessly trolled online for months.

Speaking at his exit interview after OKC’s season ended in May this year, the young Aussie opened up about the mental toll the ordeal played on him.

He said there were “days where you don’t feel like getting out of bed”.

Considering all of that history, the Bulls’ decision to send a happy birthday message to Giddey on Instagram – and leave the comments on – has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Giddey turned 22 on October 10 and the Bulls’ admins made a common move among teams by posting a montage of the young Aussie and the caption “Happy Birthday, Josh” along with the “partying face” emoji.

The Bulls' birthday image for Giddey. Photo: Instagram

Giddey is part of an exciting young roster at Chicago, including (left to right) Coby White, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and Zach LaVine. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images via AFP)

The post provoked an enormous response, with more than 47,000 likes and closing in on 2000 comments at the time of writing.

While there were a huge number of supportive comments, it’s fair to say the vast majority were not, with many unsurprisingly referring to the allegations Giddey faced last year

Typically published by faceless, nameless cowards, many of the comments tried to be clever or funny and fell well short of those goals, fairly common ground with online trolls.

A huge number also opted to link Giddey’s name with variations of disgraced music mogul Sean Combs’ stage name, P Diddy.

Sadly, considering it was his birthday, Giddey felt the need to publish his own comment — which can be read first under the Bulls’ caption — after the post blew up.

“Thank u,” Giddey wrote along with a heart emoji. Then added: “Damn … these comments.”

He topped it off with an emoji which is technically “confused face” but is widely known and used as a frowning, downcast face.

The Aussie spent his first four NBA seasons with the Thunder. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Basketball podcast The Basketball Bulletin discussed the post on Saturday (AEDT) and slammed the Bulls’ decision to leave comments on.

If Chicago’s social media team had simply turned comments off when publishing the post, the trolls would have had no avenue to add their thoughts to the public platform.

“The Chicago Bulls made a decision today that they certainly regret,” the podcast host Trevor Lane began.

“The Bulls decided to wish Josh Giddey a happy birthday. The problem? They left the comments on.

“Big, big mistake.

“For some reason, I don’t know why, Josh Giddey had to reply saying ‘these comments’. The comments got a little out of hand.

“Why did the Bulls not think, ‘why even leave the comments on?’

Giddey was a standout during the Boomers’ disappointing Olympic campaign. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

“If you’re the Bulls, you had to know this was coming. Why would you do this?”

The Bulls, who won six NBA championships during Michael Jordan’s wildly successful era in the 1990s, have largely struggled to compile a competitive team in the years since.

They have retooled around a fairly young nucleus, with Giddey expected to play a key role as a point guard and floor leader.

Chicago opened its pre-season with a 116-112 win over Cleveland on Wednesday, with Giddey starting and contributing 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes on court.

The Bulls have more pre-season games against the Grizzlies, Bucks, Wolves and Cavs to come before opening their season against the Pelicans in New Orleans on October 24.

Originally published as NBA star Josh Giddey has reacted to brutal comments on a Chicago Bulls post