Thunder boss calls for calm on ‘baby’

OKLAHOMA City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault reminded the NBA world Josh Giddey was still “a baby” in terms of his experience as the Thunder fought valiantly in an eight-point loss to the Golden State Warriors at the Paycom Centre in Oklahoma.

The Warriors, who were tipped to select Giddey (pictured) with the seventh pick in the 2021 NBA Draft before the Thunder plucked him with the sixth pick, won 106-98 despite the home side leading 59-48 at halftime.

Steve Kerr’s side saw firsthand what the young Aussie can do, as he notched a teamleading nine rebounds and four assists as well as finishing with seven points – including one threepointer.

The 19year-old’s shooting game again was not in full flight throughout the 27 minutes he was on the court, making only four shots from 13 attempts.

Still, Giddey’s performance led to more glowing reviews from the NBA world.

Sports podcaster Eddie Radosevich tweeted: “I’ve seen Josh Giddey run up and down the court roughly 50 times in four games and I’m ready to declare he will be a 12x All-Star and streets will be named after him.”

The Athletic writer Sam Vecenie wrote: “If Josh Giddey can make those catch-andshoot 3s in rhythm without dropping the ball on his gather and just firing, he’s going to be awesome.”

Despite another impressive stat line for the Melbourne native, Thunder boss Daigneault made sure to temper expectations for the youngster.

For the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins were the standout performers as they contributed 23 and 21 points.

Joe Ingles was also in action for the Utah Jazz and posted 13 points as it defeated fellow Western Conference contenders Denver Nuggets.

The Australian star also bagged five rebounds and four assists as the Jazz eased to a 122-110 win.