Josh Giddey

Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen sees something special in his “huge jump” and Australian basketball coach Brian Goorjian has described him “a huge piece” of the Boomers heading into the Paris Olympics.

It’s clear that Josh Giddey, a playmaking point guard from Victoria now making his name in the NBA, is key to the Boomers’ medal chances at the Games.

“Giddey is more than just a basketball matrix, more than just a six-foot-eight point guard who can more than meet all the skill demands of that position,” US basketball commentator Berry Tramel said. "Giddey also is an iron-willed competitor.”

Josh grew up in Melbourne, where his dad Warrick was a long-time player for the Melbourne Tigers. His mum Kim also played for the Tigers in the WNBL.

At the Australian U18 Championships in 2019, he averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and six assists, leading Victoria Metro to the title.

The following year, Josh signed with the Adelaide 36ers as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program to develop NBA draft prospects, turning down offers from several US colleges. He was a runaway success in the NBL, averaging 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, a league-leading 7.6 assists and won rookie of the year.

Selected with the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Josh made his debut in the season-opener against Joe Ingles’ Utah Jazz, becoming the youngest Aussie to play in the league.

In 2022, at 19 years and 84 days old, he created more history as the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.

In January 2023, Josh joined an elite club including fellow Australian Ben Simmons as the only players to record 1000 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists in their first 100 NBA games.

Josh made his long-awaited major tournament debut for the Boomers at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Although the Boomers failed to advance to the elimination rounds, they did secure a berth at the Paris Olympics, thanks in large part to Josh's averages of 19.4 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds over five games. And he was named the first-ever Rising Star of the World Cup.

In April 2024 Josh did what no other basketball player has ever done in New York, recording a triple-double in each of his first three games under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. His last assist of that April game against the Knicks was a pass to Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to score the go-ahead basket with 2.1 seconds remaining to beat the New York Knicks.

Weeks out from the Olympic Games in June, Josh was traded by the Thunder to the Chicago Bulls where he projects to gain an increased role in the 2024-25 NBA season. But first he'll be in Paris for the Boomers' Olympic campaign.