Australian native Josh Giddey has been a godsend for an otherwise bad Oklahoma City Thunder team this season.
How good has the rookie No. 6 pick been? Well, earlier this season Giddey joined LeBron James and LaMelo Ball as the only teenagers to record 100 assists and 100 rebounds in his first 20 NBA games.
Taking on the Dallas Mavericks Sunday evening, Giddey made more history. The wing registered 17 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists on 7-of-16 shooting in a 95-86 loss. In the process, Giddey bested the aforementioned Ball as the youngest NBA player to ever record a triple-double.
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Josh Giddey as NBA Rookie of the Year?
Right now, the odds-on favorite to earn the award has to be Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors. However, we do have Giddey as one of the top rookies heading into the new year. For good reason.
- Josh Giddey stats: 10.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 6.1 APG, 39% shooting, 25% three-point
Obviously, Giddey has to improve his shooting in order to earn the top rookie honor. It was just last weekend before he entered the NBA COVID-19 protocols that Giddey put up a double-double without scoring a point. Said game (a win over the New Orleans Pelicans) saw the teenager shoot 0-of-8 from the field.
Prior to that, Giddey had improved from a shooting perspective — hitting on 43% of his shots over the previous three games.