'It Suits Me Well': Thunder’s Josh Giddey Finding FIBA Rhythm

If you ask NBA superstar Luka Doncic, FIBA is "100 percent" than the NBA.

Well, scoring is at least. Perhaps that's why his scoring average is so high — or why even a scorer like Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Josh Giddey has taken a slight hit on his points per game average so far this summer — which says a lot.

Giddey, still just entering his third season with the Thunder, has put up multiple stat-filling performances, racking up scoring and even passing highlights in the process, but even for a player who already has NBA experience, adjusting to FIBA will still a bigger to-do than even he thought it might have been.

Josh Giddey is ready for FIBA ball 😍#FIBAWC x #WinForAustralia 🇦🇺

🎥 @stevesmithffx pic.twitter.com/CBtYuY8m04
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 17, 2023

"I've never really played for FIBA at the international level before," Giddey told reporters following an exhibition win for the Australian National Team. "There's a few different rules like [not having to] get out of the key. I keep forgetting there's no three-second violation."

For a rule as particular as that — one that's been consistently drilled into Giddey's head — it makes sense why adjusting to gameplay without it can be harder than it looks. Apart from that, however, there is one thing that the Thunder shooting guard enjoys about international play, besides representing his country.

"I think the physicality of FIBA is what I love," Giddey said. "The refs let a lot of stuff of, where[as] in the NBA, there's a lot of ticky-tacky fouls that are called."

Added Giddey: "For a guy like me who loves to play physically, I think it suits me well."

Giddey's size is one of the primary reasons for his strong upside. Being as big as he is with the ability to thread the needle and score with touch isn't a skill that too many guys at his height have, and especially on a young Oklahoma City squad, that sets him apart, which has only continued to be the case on the Australian National Team.

Entering his third season, Giddey will return to the Thunder with a new set of experience under his belt, and if his play internationally so far as come as a product of him still "adjusting," than the Boomers may be set to stick around for a good while in the World Cup.

Josh Giddey and the Australian National Team are set to open up their FIBA World Cup slate on Friday, Aug. 25 against Finland, where they will look to earn their first win alongside Giddey. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 a.m. CT.

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