Josh Giddey: Australian basketball star on the rebound after first triple-double for Chicago Bulls
The Australian Boomer achieved his first triple-double with the Chicago Bulls on Monday night (2 December).
Basketball
There are few better statements of intent in basketball than recording a triple-double.
Australia’s Josh Giddey did just that on Monday night (2 December), posting 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Chicago Bulls defeat the Brooklyn Nets 128-102.
It was, for the 22-year-old, a much-needed and much-heralded performance.
Since his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Bulls in July, Giddey has struggled to find his feet in the Windy City.
Despite posting admirable numbers for the Boomers at Paris 2024 - averaging 17.5 points, 6.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds in 29.4 minutes - the Australian hasn’t seemed able to translate that star power into something productive for the Bulls. An average of 10.6 points in his first 10 games for his new team led many to question whether he was worth the trade price of Alex Caruso.
But with Monday night’s first triple-double showing for Chicago, there's a growing sense that Giddey might now be turning a corner.
In Friday’s previous game against Boston, Giddey registered a season-low of four points and was subjected to ride the pine for the last nine minutes of the game. Reacting with a highly coveted stat line has inspired fans and observers alike that the star might now be trending on the up.
Josh Giddey: Back to old ways?
There is good reason why Giddey’s first triple-double of the season should be seen as encouraging.
While his latest effort may be Giddey’s first of the season and for the Bulls, it is notably the 12th in the NBA leading some to believe that the Australian is returning to the kind of potential that first inspired the Bulls to trade for him in the first place.
On 26 April 2021, Giddey, then a rookie, became the youngest Australian in NBL history to record a triple-double after achieving 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the New Zealand Breakers.
In the Adelaide 36ers’ next match against Brisbane Bullets on 1 May, he became the first-ever Australian to record a triple-double in consecutive games, finishing with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
Giddey’s record-breaking performances were only topped by their timing, with the then-rising star declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft on 27 April. This only helped his stock as he was ultimately selected with the number six pick by the Thunder.
Eight months after his historic triple-doubles in the NBL, Giddey clinched an NBA record, becoming the youngest-ever player to record a triple-double in league history, breaking the record previously held by LaMelo Ball. Giddey registered 17 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds in a 95-86 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
His rookie year was topped by another triple-double record footnote with Giddey becoming the first league newcomer since Oscar Robertson in 1961 to record three consecutive triple-doubles.
Three NBA seasons may have passed since those records, but the proof is there that once he gets going he can be productive with momentum. Certainly, the Bulls will be hoping the Aussie's most recent triple-double is a sign that he's tapping into a younger, more aggressive energy and that better things are to come.