‘Kidding themselves’: Legend’s warning for Aussie fans desperate for the next Josh Giddey

An Aussie basketball legend says fans will have to wait for the next Josh Giddey to come out of the NBL and take the NBA by storm.

Aussie hoops fans eagerly awaiting the next Josh Giddey might want to cool their jets, according to Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze.

Giddey has exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations in his first season in the NBA.

Since being taken with the No. 6 pick in last year’s draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 19-year-old has seriously impressed with his playmaking skills and incredible all-court passing game.

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Last month, Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.

He has also been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in November, December and January and he will feature in the Rising Stars tournament during the NBA’s prestigious All-Star weekend later in February.

Giddey and the player whose triple-double record he broke, LaMelo Ball, have one thing in common. They both won Rookie of the Year in Australia’s NBL in consecutive seasons playing for the Adelaide 36ers and Illawarra Hawks, respectively.

The NBL hit the jackpot with Giddey and Ball, but Gaze warned fans it’s unrealistic to expect a player of that duo’s calibre to come out of the league this season.

“I think when you look at the players, it’s hard when you’ve just had LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey come through and you’re seeing what they’re doing in the NBA,” Gaze told news.com.au.

“We kind of get to a point where we expect it.

“We think, ‘Oh, this should happen all the time’.

Josh Giddey has been on fire in his debut NBA season are coming through the NBL. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

“That is really, really rare for any international league to have two young players come out and have that type of impact coming from the one league. That is highly unusual.”

Gaze said this season’s crop of young players aren’t won’t be top NBA draft picks like Giddey and Ball, but some have the potential to be picked up later in the draft like American R.J. Hampton, who was picked in the first round of the 2020 draft after playing for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.

“They’re not going to jump off the page like Giddey and LaMelo,” he said.

“I think it’s important people understand that is highly unusual and yes, we’re striving to have those types of guys, but these guys are more like I guess we saw with RJ Hampton.

“He was a mid draft pick. I think that’s more likely what we’re going to see more so than the No. 3 pick and the No. 6 pick in drafts.”

As for the players in the NBL who might attract the attention of NBA scouts, Gaze nominated several international youngsters, many of whom are part of the NBL's ‘Next Stars’ development program.

“This year we’ve got a new crop of players coming through,” he said.

“(There’s) a lot of talk about Ariel Hukporti, the kid from (Melbourne) United, Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers) is another one in that Next Stars program.

“Some of the other ones I think are more typical of what you’re going to expect with young players, because guys like Tom Digbeu that’s in Brisbane and Nikita (Mikhailovskii), the kid in Tasmania, they’ve hardly played, or they’re played very little. And that shouldn’t be that unexpected because this is a really tough league.

Ariel Hukporti (right) of Melbourne United is one of the NBL’s brightest prospects. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

“So no one’s really jumped off the page like those two (Giddey and Ball) and saying, ‘Well here we’ve got a lottery pick in the NBA’. I don’t think we’re seeing any of that but we certainly are still seeing some really talented young players that are going to come under the eye of the NBA scouts.

“Throw in the mix guys like Hugo Besson (New Zealand Breakers), who is not a Next Stars player, he’s actually playing as an import player but he’s still only 20 years of age. He’s come from overseas and he’s trying to emulate what Giddey and others have done.”

Filipino talent Kai Sotto is another young player Gaze believes has the potential to be picked up by an NBA team.

“Kai Sotto, the kid from Adelaide, he’s 7 foot 3,” Gaze said.

“I think the Adelaide 36ers and the league in general weren’t sure what they were going to get but we’ve seen that he looks like a player that’s going to come under the NBA radar as well and provided he continues to make progress like that, I think he’s also got a chance to be in consideration.”

Hugo Besson of the New Zealand Breakers is a highly rated French talent. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

That Gaze only rattled off international players and didn’t mention an Australian coming through the ranks is more a tribute to Giddey’s talent than a blight on the next crop of youngsters.

The Boomers legend has been impressed with Giddey’s consistency and ability to fill up a box score in his debut season for OKC, and believes the Melbourne product has the potential to become one of the best players in the NBA and the world.

“I, and most people, aren’t surprised that he is developing into a really good NBA player,” Gaze said.

“But I am surprised at the level of consistency that he’s had and the numbers that he’s putting up. I think that not even the most optimistic would have predicted that.

“I think that we still hold hopes that he’s on a trajectory that’s going to make him one of the premier players in the NBA, in the world.

“I think ultimately we all thought that was his potential, but I think most people would be kidding themselves if they thought he was going to have this type of impact so soon.

Andrew Gaze believes Giddey can be one of the best players in the NBA. (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)

“And a lot of that is because of the work that he’s doing and the way in which he’s embraced the challenge, so a lot of credit you’ve got to give to Josh.”

Gaze said Giddey was benefiting from playing for the lowly Thunder, where he is a getting plenty of game time as a regular starter.

“But also I think it’s about opportunity and being in a team that is not a playoff contender, that’s not a championship contender and is a very young team that’s on a build going through the so-called ‘process’,” he said.

“I think he’s in a situation where he’s getting to play a lot and they understand that he’s going to make some rookie errors and they’re able to play through those in a different way to what teams that are vying for a championship.”

Originally published as ‘Kidding themselves’: Legend’s warning for Aussie fans desperate for the next Josh Giddey