Josh Giddey's Rebounding Numbers Steadily Improving in Year Two
Josh Giddey appears to be on track to cement himself as the No. 2 in Oklahoma City.
The clear supporting role to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a shared role between Lu Dort and Giddey for this season, and will likely continue to be that way. But Giddey is becoming a star behind SGA, and could have the chance to average a double-double this season.
Giddey is no stranger to notching double-doubles along with the occasional triple-double, but it hasn’t quite become his average feat. Currently Giddey is averaging more than 14 points and 8.1 rebounds, a mark that has risen in December.
OKC needed to see a boost rebounding with the lack of a true big man, and Giddey has stepped up. He led the Thunder in rebounding last season, and continues to lead this season with better numbers.
In December alone, despite not playing in OKC’s past two games due to an illness, Giddey has averaged 9.9 rebounds per game, while continuing to score at an efficient clip. Giddey has notched five double-doubles this month in seven games played. He’s also recorded a double-double in his last two outings.
In his career Giddey has 28 double-doubles, with 12 of those coming this season. Giddey is just four off his total mark from his rookie season, and has played half as many games.
With 51 games left in the season, Giddey has plenty of chances to continue to raise his rebounding numbers and with OKC taking more shots, he’s going to be at the rim often.
With the consistency of his scoring numbers Giddey is fairly locked into having enough points per game to make the double-double average, but raising his rebounds up to above 10 may be difficult, throughout the season, but he’s proven he still has growth.
Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
