Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Australian Boomers star Josh Giddey is flattered when his name is linked to Michael Jordan, the greatest basketballer to have graced the hardwood.
And there were several times in the NBA season just gone that the Chicago Bulls playmaker was mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, who not only won six championships with the Bulls but carried the sport into a new, glittering world.
Giddey, 23, this year passed Jordan on the Bulls’ all-time triple-double list with a franchise record 29, and became the first Bulls player since Jordan in 1989 to record back-to-back triple-doubles.
But, on a warm Wednesday morning in Melbourne when he learnt the rebuilding Bulls had parted ways with coach Billy Donovan after six seasons, Giddey’s true reason for playing the sport was clear.
“I mean, he [Jordan] is obviously the pinnacle of the sport. He is the greatest to ever do it. And any time your name is mentioned with someone [like Jordan], that is pretty special,” said Giddey, who was promoting Nine’s new free-to-air broadcast deal with the NBL.
Nine, the owner of this masthead, will show two marquee NBL games each week under a multi-year deal.
“But, as I said, the individual stuff is great, but you get to a point that I’m at, probably in my career, where it doesn’t mean as much as it once did early on.
“Winning is the pinnacle. And that’s what I want to get to. [But] yeah, anytime your name is mentioned with a guy like that, it’s special.”
It certainly wasn’t a special season for the Bulls, who shredded their roster at the trade deadline in February, sacked their president of basketball operations and general manager, and have now parted with their respected coach after failing to make the play-offs.
Giddey, with a four-year, $150 million contract, understands the “business”, but five years into his NBA career, he craves team success.
“It sucks anytime I come back here, and I’m working out, and I’m watching the play-offs up on the big screen,” Giddey said.
That attitude is reflected in the pass-first point guard having begun arduous workouts with veteran high-performance trainer Nik Popovic just two days after returning home. Popovic spent many years in Brian Goorjian-led programs, and now works year round with Giddey.
That strong work was on show as Giddey posted career-high averages in points (17.0), rebounds (8.3), and assists (9.1) per game in 54 games, while averaging a strong 36.4 per cent (career 33.7) from three-point range.
“I think early on in the year, we looked really good. And I thought the team that we had was a play-off calibre team, and we could have made some noise there. And then, obviously, at the trade deadline, they kind of changed some things. We had eight new players, eight guys left. It was a massive change,” Giddey said.
“All of us kind of had a mini-camp in the middle of the year trying to integrate all these new players into the team.”
Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said he wanted the contracted Donovan to stay, but, as Giddey pointed out, “Billy made his own decision”.
“I loved him. I, obviously, wish he could have been there and stayed. I’ve had nothing but good things to say about Billy,” Giddey said.
Donovan turned the Bulls over to Giddey after trading for him from the Oklahoma City Thunder in June 2024, understanding his all-court passing skills, honed as a junior at the Melbourne Tigers running the club’s famous shuffle offence, were exceptional.
Giddey stunned locals last year when he filled in for a friend and played a surprise game at the Frankston Basketball Stadium. It remains to be seen whether that happens again, but he is keen to lure as many Boomers to Courtside in Port Melbourne, a complex he part owns, soon for an unofficial mini-camp ahead of next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Under new coach Adam Caporn, an assistant with the Washington Wizards, the Boomers are keen to banish memories of a disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics when they failed to reach the medal rounds.
Giddey said he did not know if veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills, 37, or Joe Ingles, 38, were still available for selection. Ingles is involved a play-off run with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but has had strong discussions about a return to the NBL with Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix, league sources, who did not wish to speak publicly, told this masthead.
“We’ve got a kind of good crop of [youngsters] … they [Mills and Ingles] have done so much for the country and for the Boomers. So the next crop of guys coming through, to be able to carry that torch, and what they have done … we’ll see, I guess, next year,” Giddey said.
Mills, after a year off, is playing with La Laguna Tenerife in Spain’s Liga ACB and the Basketball Champions League.
Giddey said five-time NBL most valuable player Bryce Cotton, now an Australian citizen, would be “welcomed with open arms” if he chose to play for Australia.
He also said the door was still open for a Ben Simmons return. Simmons, 29, a three-time NBA All-Star and former rookie of the year, has had back injuries and mental health issues, did not win an NBA contract last season.
He has since been having fun being a team owner and controlling operator of the South Florida Sails in the Sport Fishing Championship, a professional offshore saltwater fishing league.
“His body is, obviously, not as it once was. But, yeah, from what I understand, he wants to play. I think it’s just being healthy enough,” Giddey said.
“He’s, obviously, got a big hobby outside of basketball. He loves doing it. Yeah, I mean, I’m sure he’s gonna come back and play at some point.”
NBL sources, wishing to remain anonymous, said they would welcome Simmons, but there had not been any recent contact between the parties.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
