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Josh Giddey couldn’t help but crack a smile. The normally composed half-court conductor had just been told by a reporter that he was the first Chicago Bull to record back-to-back triple doubles since Michael Jordan more than 30 years ago.
The Australian’s starring role in the 24-point comeback against Philadelphia this week, when he gathered double-digit tallies in points, rebounds and assists – hence “triple” double – ended with an exclamation point.
A lavish off-hand pass for the game-winning basket by his team-mate Nikola Vučević meant Giddey was atop both the game’s box score and its viral highlight. “Huh,” the 23-year-old replied to the reporter, shaking his head, as his distinctive mop of hair moved as one.
Australian audiences got a thrill from spotting Luc Longley during The Last Dance, the 2020 documentary that helped a new generation discover the achievements of Jordan’s Bulls, even if producers largely overlooked the centre’s contribution as a vital member of that team. (Longley’s version of events was subsequently covered by the ABC.)
There have been Australian NBA successes since, like Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut and Joe Ingles, who have either won championships or respect in one of the world’s most hyper-competitive athletic arenas. Matthew Dellavedova’s role in Cleveland’s 2016 title alongside LeBron James was as legendary as it was unlikely.
Yet Longley’s place in basketball history playing alongside Jordan has always been a badge of honour for Australian hoops. Now, a grinning Giddey was alongside Jordan in the same sentence. “Nah, it’s cool,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and lie about it and say it’s not cool.”
Scottie Pippen has described Jordan as selfish, but Giddey is not one to spend long dwelling on himself. “All the individual stuff comes as a byproduct of winning and being a very fun team to play with,” the Australian told the reporter.
Giddey should know. He exploded into the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and was the youngest player to record a triple double early in 2022, less than three months after he turned 19 during his rookie season. But after Giddey started every game and played 31 minutes per contest in his second season, Oklahoma City’s coaching staff saw success in another direction.
His minutes dropped to 25 per game the following season, and then 18 in the playoffs, as the Thunder surrounded lead guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with shooters and athletic defenders. Unfortunately for the Australian, he had proven by that stage to be neither.
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Giddey has always been large for a guard, his size helping him compete physically in the lane and for rebounds. His playmaking, management of pace and passing have always been elite. But his inconsistent shot – especially off the dribble – reluctance to use his frame attacking the rim, and struggles to contain fast opponents on the perimeter were always seen as potentially critical limitations.
There are just 30 NBA teams, and therefore as few players who get to be lead point guards. But only half that number get to be lead guards with winning records. The Bulls’ mediocrity last season, after they traded well-liked Alex Caruso for Giddey, threatened to force the Australian into a career riding the NBA pine if he could not be useful starting for a playoff contender.
Giddey’s form did trend up in the back half of the season, but his protracted off-season contract extension showed Bulls’ general manager Artūras Karnišovas – like much of Chicago’s demanding fanbase – was still unconvinced of his value.
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Seven games into the new season, and Giddey is beginning to change perceptions. Many Bulls’ followers have admitted they were wrong about him on social media this week. Others went further. “Michael Josh Giddey Jordan. It’s over we winning three chips in a row,” one said on Instagram, below the video of the game-winner, in a comment liked almost 2,000 times.
The Australian is averaging nearly a triple double with 23 points. His three-point shooting success rate is above league average and he is attacking the rim, getting to the free-throw line twice as often as he did last season.
But most importantly he is helping his side win. The Bulls recorded their best start to a season since peak Jordan in 1996 and sit atop the Eastern Conference, one of only two teams – alongside Giddey’s old friends at the Thunder – with just a single loss.
Jordan and Giddey have little in common, apart from the red and black singlet both have worn, as well as that obscure statistical achievement highlighted this week. To be clear, Giddey might be best described – as an awkwardly upright, team-focused, pass-first point guard and a suburban kid from Melbourne, Australia – as the anti-Jordan.
Put the man known as a Mike in any team and he would have been a star, such were his physical and mental attributes. Jordan is known as the most competitive athlete ever, brash and combative, and able to back it up in any contest.
Giddey will never dunk from the free-throw line or transform the fortunes of a sporting goods manufacturer, but for Chicago fans – who have now waited 26 years for a seventh NBA title – it may be in his power to do something just as significant: help the Bulls be successful.
The Australian knows, after his experience in Oklahoma City, he needs the faith of those around him. “I’m grateful I’ve got teammates and coaches who allow me to be in positions to be successful,” he said.
