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Josh Giddey’s journey: ‘That is what I have been working for my complete life’
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — As he appears to rebuild the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder right into a NBA contender, basic supervisor Sam Presti has introduced in a handful of extremely touted younger gamers who’ve comparable traits — lengthy, good ball-handlers, succesful shooters and worldwide.
To a crew that already contains present franchise cornerstone and level guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada, Presti final yr drafted 7-foot heart Aleksej Pokesevski of Serbia and this week chosen 6-foot-8 guard Josh Giddey of Australia with the No. 6 choose.
The 18-year-old Giddey was launched Saturday together with Oklahoma Metropolis’s three different draftees — fellow first-rounder Tre Mann of Florida and second-rounders Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of Villanova and Aaron Wiggins of Maryland — within the foyer of the newly renamed Paycom Area.
What can this new draft class convey to Oklahoma Metropolis?
Somewhat than in search of a selected talent set, Presti stated he merely seeks good gamers in an try and return the Thunder to playoff competition, after the franchise relied for greater than a decade on superstars together with (at instances) Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.
“The power to anticipate and actually course of the sport rapidly is absolutely necessary with the best way that defenses are right now and the best way the sport is officiated and the tempo of the sport,” Presti stated. “We simply need to play good basketball. A part of good basketball is taking part in collectively, anticipating the place your teammates are going to be on the ground and placing one another in place to achieve success.
“Now we have such a clean canvas. We’ve predominantly had, over the course of time, some really superb Corridor of Fame-level gamers that … have helped us obtain the second-best report within the NBA over the previous 10-plus years. However now now we have a brand-new alternative in entrance of us. That’s one of the vital invigorating issues for us as a corporation.”
Presti stated he grew to become additional conversant in Giddey whereas sitting in quarantine in an Orlando resort room after arriving there to observe the Thunder’s G-League crew, the Oklahoma Metropolis Blue, compete in a bubble.
“I had 4 days to sit down in my room and that was the primary time I actually dug into lots of his movie,” Presti stated. “By the point I left my room, I had a reasonably good really feel for him. That was very useful, as a result of it was so constant.”
Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder choose the NBA’s first Academy participant out of Australia, Josh Giddey.
Giddey, the son of two skilled gamers, stated he “grew up … with a ball in my fingers.” He stated he thought of taking part in faculty basketball at Colorado however finally determined as a substitute to play in Australia’s Nationwide Basketball League. He was the NBL’s rookie of the yr for the Adelaide 36ers final season.
“I believe I’m an even bigger playmaker,” Giddey stated. “I believe it’s finest to go the ball and get my teammates concerned and put them in positions to succeed, sacrificing myself for the crew’s success. I’ve at all times been a pass-first man however clearly, being larger, I can rebound, get out in transition and make performs. That’s my sport.”
He thinks he’ll mix in properly with Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s different ball-handlers.
“After I was in Australia, I didn’t actually play with one other level guard,” Giddey stated. “I had the ball in my fingers 90 p.c of the time. … Enjoying with a man like Shai, it actually takes the strain off me to deal with the ball on a regular basis. He’s an All-Star-level expertise, a younger man who’s acquired a vivid future within the league. I believe taking part in with him will improve my sport.”
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