THUNDER REPORT CARD
Josh Giddey's rookie season was outstanding. The Thunder point guard, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, displayed talent rarely seen from NBA rookies. Our series of Thunder report cards concludes today with Giddey, the 6-foot-8 point guard from Australia.
Passing: A
Giddey was billed as a court-aware, pinpoint passer. The scouts got that right. Giddey was superb, both in transition and in halfcourt, as a ball distributor. He's fundamentally sound but also adept at the wow-pass. Giddey averaged 6.4 assists per game, 11th in NBA history among rookies, and tied for eighth all-time among rookies in assists per 36 minutes (7.3). Giddey was in a tie with Magic Johnson, and others on those lists were the likes of Chris Paul and Oscar Robertson. Giddey's assist rate of 32.3 (percentage of teammates' baskets in which a player assisted, while on the court) was 12thbest in the NBA, and the list is dotted with ball-dominant, high-volume shooters like Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, John Ploth and James Harden. The Thunder and the Bucks were the only two teams with two players each in the top 18 of assist rate (Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for OKC; Jrue Holliday and Giannis Antetokounmpo for Milwaukee).
Playing with SGA: C
Barring a trade, the Thunder's future partly rests on the ability of Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander to co-exist on the court. Both are tall point guards who are best with the ball in their hands. The learning curve was rough; the early returns weren't great. Using net rating (point differential), Giddey ranked 12th among SGA teammates in two-man lineups (-10.5 points per 100 possessions). SGA ranked seventh among Giddey teammates in two-man lineups. But the demeanor and attitude of each makes more cohesion likely.
Rebounding: A
Giddey's rebounding prowess was undersold. He might have been OKC's best rebounder. Giddey averaged 7.8 per game and 8.9 per 36 minutes. He led OKC in rebounds per game. Giddey's 12.7 rebounding rate (percentage of available rebounds he grabbed while on the court) was 39th-best in the NBA and second-best among guards, trailing only Doncic.
Shooting: D
Giddey's 3-point percentage was a hideous .263. But a couple of things make that perhaps bearable. 1) Most rookies struggle from deep. Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs, both picked before Giddey at No. 6, had worse 3point percentages. 2) Giddey's percentage on non-paint 2-pointers was .396, which isn't great but isn't awful. Still, Giddey's free-throw percentage was .709. That's not good.
Ball security: D
Giddey was a turnover machine. Again, that can be a rookie trait, but his turnover rate of 19.5 (turnovers divided by possessions used) was fourth-highest in the NBA among players with at least 1,000 minutes. Giddy committed 108 of his 171 turnovers off of passes; he was not shy about trying high-risk passes. But that mark needs to decline.