Giddey Shows Improvement Towards Stardom in Sophomore Season

Josh Giddey could’ve fallen into a slump after his breakout rookie season, instead he saw a rise in output.

Giddey entered the season as the third weapon for the Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort as the return leaders. The Australian then quickly took over as the second scoring option.

Giddey needed still to develop a consistent shot as one of consistent knocks on his game was his shooting ability both from the field and especially from 3-point range. The 6-foot-9 guard shot 26.% from 3-point range his rookie season, but after an offseason focused on the teams overall shooting ability he improved his clip up to 32.5% this season.

The passing ability has been a praise of his game, and continues to improve as Giddey spends more time as a viable ball handler for the team. His assist numbers stayed relatively the same as he averaged 6.4 his rookie season and notched 6.2 per game this season.

Giddey’s rebounding numbers also stands out amongst the league as he averaged 7.9 rebounds per game this season, up slightly from his rookie campaign. With his rebounding and assists along with his 16.6 points per contest, Giddey became a double-double machine during his second season. He notched 29 double-doubles this season and four triple-doubles.

The young Australian’s rebounding and assist numbers both ranked in the top 30 of the league with his assist mark being 20th best in the league. Giddey's improvements were obvious as he continued to look more comfortable on the court and continued to produce when needed as both the top option or a secondary playmaker based on Gilgeous-Alexander’s availability throughout the season.

The Thunder’s young core excelled expectations throughout the season, especially Giddey who saw growth in many of his skills including his shooting, which was the most needed.

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