Josh Giddey was just like the 60 or so young male and female basketball players who landed in Canberra this week when he was a fresh-faced player in 2018, long before he was lighting up the NBA.
As a budding Australian star with the potential to make a name for himself, he too had been invited to participate in a Basketball without Borders camp, this one in India.
Giddey’s record
Few people today would have predicted that Giddey would end up in this position, shattering records and immediately making a name for himself as one of the NBA’s most marketable rookies – on and off the court.
But that didn’t stop Caris LeVert, who was Giddey’s camp mentor, from having a profound effect on the young people of Australia.
LeBron James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, even praised the Australian during the All-Star weekend earlier this year. LeVert was the first NBA player to speak highly of Giddey’s excellent skills on the court, but he was by no means the last.
You can get a decent understanding of him by playing against him,” Allen remarked at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, where he is serving as a coach for the most recent Basketball without Borders camp. With Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and new No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City, which seemed to be perpetually in a rebuilding mode, suddenly has three essential components to build around.
We learned last month from sources that Holmgren is Giddey’s “ideal companion,” and Allen is only anticipating that the Australian will advance alongside his new comrade. “
Quoted scenes
I do believe that his game will improve now that he has Chet “Allen said.
Giddey will face high expectations given all that he accomplished in his first season, but Thunder assistant coach David Akinyooye has little doubt that the Australian is prepared to step up his game in response. “
The main thing about him is that he works, “Akinyooye, who is also a camp coach in Canberra.
Allen and the Cavaliers have a youthful nucleus to build around, similar to Giddey’s Thunder, and forward Evan Mobley, 21, had an early impact in his rookie season.
Mobley allayed any doubts about his compatibility with Allen by coming in second place to Scottie Barnes in last year’s Rookie of the Year competition. Allen called his teammate’s rookie year in the NBA “phenomenal.”
One of the main reasons Cleveland was a surprise playoff candidate last season—even if they ultimately lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in round—was because of Mobley.
We intend to demonstrate to them that we intend to remain, he said.