Josh Giddey Done for Season with Hip Soreness
Australian rookie Josh Giddey has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Saturday.
Coach Mark Daigneault shared the news ahead of Saturday’s loss to Denver.
Giddey hasn’t played since Feb. 24, and Daigneault said the “return-to-play portion” of his rehab process would last longer than the two weeks that are left in the season.
“It’s a tricky injury that’s a little unpredictable,” said Daigneault. “I would not say it met or didn’t meet an expectation. We didn’t really have an expectation.”
The sixth overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, Giddey put on a stellar rookie campaign, averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 54 games.
He won rookie of the month in each month that he played, and became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, doing so multiple times.
Giddey undoubtedly established himself as a key piece to Thunder general manager Sam Presti’s campaign to rebuild the team, and will look to continue building on his early success as a sophomore next season.
The Thunder have just eight games remaining on their schedule this season, and are currently holding the fourth best draft odds heading into the 2022 NBA Draft.
Oklahoma City next takes on the Portland Trailblazer on Monday at 9 p.m. In order to snag better draft odds, OKC will likely need to lose out in their remaining contests.
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