Josh Giddey and OKC Thunder bring Adelaide 36ers crashing crashing back to earth
The $250 million difference in team salary caps was on full display this time with the Adelaide 36ers suffering a blowout 131-98 loss.
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The history-making Adelaide 36ers were hoping lightning would strike twice to produce another NBA pre-season boilover, but ex-36er Josh Giddey and his OKC Thunder had other ideas to bring the boys from the NBL crashing back to earth.
Three days after the 36ers were red-hot offensively in a record win over the Phoenix Suns, the men from the City of Churches went cold to suffer a blowout 131-98 loss to the Thunder.
Adelaide shot just one of eleven from three-point range in the opening quarter and a lowly 30.6 per cent overall – a stark difference to the 24 threes they nailed to defeat the Suns.
The 36ers’ shooting struggles opened the door for a youthful and athletic OKC side to take a stranglehold of the game and they didn’t look back.
Giddey wasn’t at his brilliant best against his former team where he claimed the 2021 NBL Rookie of the Year award, but he still showcased his class with another stat sheet stuffing display.
The Melbourne-born guard finished with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists and two blocks in 20 minutes on the floor.
Giddey was rapt with Oklahoma City’s dominant performance, crediting his side’s 35-point first quarter for setting up the win.
“It was a good start for us - we knew not to take these guys lightly after what they did to Phoenix and we knew it was going to be a challenge for us,” Giddey said post-game.
“We had an undermanned team tonight and we didn’t have the full squad, but we came out with the right mentality, threw the first punch and it set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Result aside, Giddey said it was special to play against his former NBL team on the NBA stage.
He also praised the 36ers for helping to showcase the strength of Australian basketball to a global audience.
“I always used to watch these NBL versus NBA games and I wish I could’ve come over here when I was in the NBL, but with Covid and everything it wasn’t possible,” he said.
“I was praying this year that I would be able to play against an NBL team, and for it to be against my former team made it that much more special.
“It is great for Australian basketball to be put on a world stage, and for Adelaide to beat Phoenix and create history, I’m super happy for them.
“I’m a big NBL advocate and this (concept) is only going to get bigger in Australia.”
Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze was courtside in Oklahoma City to watch Giddey play.
Gaze has worked closely with the rising Boomers guard, dating back to his junior days at the Melbourne Tigers.
The NBL great believes Giddey is destined for greatness, but he is far from the final product.
“I started coaching Josh in a team environment when he was nine and while we always knew he would be good, we didn’t think he would be this good,” Gaze said.
“I’ve helped him work on his shot and while he still has a long way to go in that area, when you’ve got someone as talented as Josh, it’s pretty easy.
“He is under no illusions that he still has a long way to go, but his NBL experience helped his maturity to become a pro.”
Guard Tre Mann led the way for OKC with 26 points while forward Lindy Waters III chimed in with 23 points off the bench.
Import guard Craig Randall II was Adelaide’s best performer.
Randall did his best to back up his dominant display against the Suns with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds.
Adelaide’s star off-season signings Antonius Cleveland (19 points) and Robert Franks (20 points) kept fighting, but they were outclassed on the night.
The 36ers must quickly regroup and turn their attention to a season-opening home NBL clash against the Tasmania JackJumpers on October 13.
‘FOR OUR LEAGUE’: AUSSIES MAKE HISTORY IN NBA BOILOVER
For the Adelaide 36ers and coach CJ Bruton, it was about being ready for the moment and seizing their chance to make history.
The new-look NBL outfit did that and more as David took down Goliath and created Australian sporting history, stunning $270 million NBA powerhouse the Phoenix Suns in a result heard around the sporting world.
While the rest of the NBL teams got their new season underway at home the revamped 36ers travelled to the Arizona to take on Phoenix and put the home team to the sword in an unforgettable 134-124 victory.
Adelaide 36ers…👀
— josh giddey (@joshgiddey) October 3, 2022
It was the first time an NBL team, which has a salary cap of justf $1.7 million, has ever beaten an NBA team as the pre-season hitouts resumed for the first time since 2019. The 36ers became the first non-NBA team to win a pre-season game since Fenerbachce beat Brooklyn Nets in October, 2015.
Bruton’s phone blew up in the aftermath of the victory with even fellow NBL coaches sending messages declaring what a proud moment it was for the Australian league.
It was a moment not lost on the coach who had declared it was like Rocky’s battle with Apollo Creed before the game, and, like Rocky, the underdog shocked the world.
“Everyone wants to create history and I needed to remind my players that while we had this opportunity we needed to take advantage of it,” Bruton said from Arizona.
“I’m excited for my boys and the NBL and the 36ers and I’m excited that my family is here and happy and seeing my players happy … it’s not championship but it’s a good start for where our season may begin.
They just beat an NBA squad, but the @Adelaide36ers are "building for what actually counts" and "locked in on the NBL season" and their "championship or bust" campaign 👀#NBL23#NBLxNBApic.twitter.com/1tXYGvUCWB
— The NBL (@NBL) October 3, 2022
“I’ve played Olympics, played elite level and travelled around, and this is amazing. The reason why we are here is for the game.
“But that was for our league, it wasn’t just for us, it was for our league standing up.”
While the Suns were playing in their first game since their 2022 playoff exit and they had regular starters Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Miles Bridges, Cam Johnson and DeAndre Ayton, who earn most of the combined $270 Suns annual wage bill, open the game.
But after getting “locked in” during a pre-match shootaround, it was the 36ers, earning a combined $1.7 million this season, who put on the show.
The new Adelaide imports went on an offensive onslaught with Craig Randall II (35 points) and Robert Franks (32 points) who showed their NBA-calibre class in Arizona.
Randall in particular put on a display to get 36ers fans frothing after letting fly from long range and landing nine of his teams 24 three-pointers, weaponry the Suns couldn’t handle, even getting the attention of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.
randall, franks & cleveland hooping
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 3, 2022
Phoenix got within one-point during a third quarter-rally, but it was all they could muster.
“I think their starters, were, I don’t know if they were shocked, but they probably thought we would drop off,” Bruton said.
“They gave it to us in that second half, that third quarter, to bring it back quickly. Their starting five dominated that quarter. But when they went to their bench we were able to hold them off and make a few big plays as you have to in sport to be successful.
“The guys I recruited to do the job, they did their job well. Our three imports stood up, our Australians stood up, they proved we have got culture and chemistry we are building, it’s just a glimpse of where we can get to.”
Before the match the Suns’ own Australian, former NBL finals MVP Jock Landale, declared the visitors would “come in and play freely” and they did they just that.
There was a considerable lack of intensive defence from the Suns, with the 36ers managing 71 first half points alone. To put that in perspective, through the opening round of the NBL last weekend the match average was 90 points per game.
OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/u3hWLt9Wf9
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 3, 2022
But the visitors refused to take their foot off the pedal in the second-half and while the “shocked” Suns rallied to get to within one point in the third quarter, the 36ers would not be denied in a performance to remember for the NBL outfit.
Bruton also said it was a win for the city of Adelaide, the start of a turnaround after a 10-18 record last season which wasn’t enough for a proud club to make the playoffs.
“This was an opportunity for them to help the city of Adelaide stand up,” he said.
“There’s no better way to start that off, before we come home and play our first home game, to have this under our belt.”
The 36ers revamped the roster during a big off-season, signing important Randall, Franks and Antonius Cleveland, who also had 22 points against the Suns.
Randall II arrived in Adelaide fresh off winning the 2022 NBA Summer League championship in Las Vegas and was a dominant offensive presence against the Suns.
Franks, who had played in the NBA with short stints at the Orlando Magic as well as the Charlotte Hornets, was equally as impressive from the three-point arc, nailing six of 10.
The 36ers will go again this Friday when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Aussie sensation Josh Giddey, who won the NBL’s rookie of the year award before being taken at pick 11 in the NBA draft, before returning home for their opening clash against the Jackjumpers on October 13.
Bruton, who was going to “watch the video” to prepare rather than revel too long in the victory, said bringing a similar performance was just as important as winning.
“It’s even more important. It’s about the moment and the opportunity,” he said.
“This is about the 36ers coming together. Winning that game doesn’t win us the championship. It sets the stage.
“Playing OKC just adds another layer, this will be Round 2, then we come home. We need to back up.”
Originally published as Josh Giddey and OKC Thunder bring Adelaide 36ers crashing crashing back to earth
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