Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels (front row) with NBA Academy teammates. Source: NBA Global Academy Source: Supplied The watch parties every time an Academy graduate is drafted and the framed posters of the program’s past alumni in the locker room are all part of something bigger. Building a tradition, a clear vision or path to believe in.
“Our locker room has all our NBA players on it and the slogan is, ‘Who’s next?’, so every time they walk into the locker room they get to see someone they know and see those kids came through this program,” Clarke told foxsports.com.au .
“We’re always putting that in front of them, there is a pathway, it’s been trodden before and everyone that treads it makes it easier for you. You’ve just got to do the work.”
Giddey and Daniels both did the work and on Monday they faced off for the first time, once NBA Academy teammates and now opponents.
So, once again Clarke and the Academy took the opportunity to continue building that tradition — to give its current attendees a glimpse of what is possible if they put in the work.
“One of the things will be when these guys play each other, we’ll make sure the guys watch that,” he said.
“The message will be simple, ‘remember, they were here two or three years ago. Where could you be in two or three years?’ Anytime you can show players that they have some sort of connection to doing something I think you should take advantage of that.”
Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels learned a lot. Source: NBA Global Academy Source: FOX SPORTS That even extended to a recent clip posted on the New Orleans Pelicans’ Twitter account of Daniels playing defence.
“We gave that to them to show them, we discussed it because it’s exactly what we’ve been talking about practice about his foot angles, playing with this chest and then tying a guy up,” Clarke added.
“Anytime you can show players that they have some sort of connection to doing something I think you should take advantage of that.”
Daniels and Giddey did not end up spending too much time on the court together on Monday unfortunately, primarily substituted on and off at the wrong time.
In the end though it was Daniels and the New Orleans Pelicans who outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder at home 105-101 in an epic duel that went down to the wire.
Zion Williamson led the way for the Pelicans, who were without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, posting 23 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander amassed 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Thunder.
Giddey finished the game with seven points, five rebounds, one steal while Daniels had an extended run with Ingram and McCollum out, putting up eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
It is probably a good thing for Giddey that he did not see Daniels too much on the court, with Clarke revealing the Bendigo product spent plenty of time guarding Giddey at the Academy.
“Those two certainly picked each other out [in drills],” Clarke said.
“If they needed to an opponent, Dyson would always go Giddey and say, ‘I want to guard you’ or ‘I want to play one-on-one against you’.
“It was kind of a thing where the young guy was trying to prove himself and it was good for Josh because Dyson has always been such a heck of a defender and Josh at his size and his position, Dyson could just about match that athleticism. I think those are the situations where iron sharpens iron and Dyson certainly brought out the best in Josh.”
Dyson Daniels laying it up with Josh Giddey in the background. Source: NBA Global Academy Source: FOX SPORTS The Pelicans got out to an early 34-26 lead, but OKC stayed in striking distance all contest long as both teams went blow for blow.
Williamson’s basket with 3:54 left in the third extended New Orleans’ lead to 75-62 and it looked like the hosts might run away with it, but responded down the stretch to keep the Thunder alive.
OKC kept coming in the fourth, with Dort’s two-pointer cutting its deficit to just 94-95.
Gilgeous-Alexander made four-straight free throws late to give the Thunder a rare 98-97 lead, and after Trey Murphy responded with a triple, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl came right back at the other end with his own three.
It led to a tense and wild final minute, where Williamson made and-one bucket and converted the free throw to put the Pelicans back up 103-101.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to even the scores or put the Thunder ahead on the final possession, but gave away an offensive charge, while Herb Jones made a pair of free throws to ice the win for New Orleans.
The result saw the Pelicans improve to 12-8 and climb into the West’s third seed, while OKC fell to 8-13.
Both Daniels and Giddey are in very different situations in the early stages of their careers, although their time at the Academy has prepared them well for the rigours of the NBA.
Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniel were teammates on an NBA Academy Select Team that won the prestigious Ciutat De L’Hospitalet Tournament in Barcelona, Spain in 2020. Source: NBA Global Academy Source: FOX SPORTS For Daniels, he is having to bide his time in a stacked Pelicans side while Giddey is learning to buy into the long-term vision in Oklahoma City, where wins can be hard to come by.
“We had the infrastructure and the human resources to be able to talk to them about life and growing up and all the things – here are some potholes that might happen and here’s some things that might go well,” Clarke said.
“Nutrition, psychology, biomechanics, physiology – it’s all done within here – social media, dealing with public speaking, it can all be done here. So when they leave here, they are a little bit more equipped to deal with what the pro world is.
“Remember the pro world is a nasty world. It’s dog eat dog and everyone’s got an opinion. There’s a lot of things that can affect how you perceive yourself and your job is always to figure out who you are and be true to yourself.”
But that was not a message that had to necessarily be drilled into Daniels and Giddey, both being mature beyond their years — on and off the court.
“I think those two guys did a good job of figuring that out and then when past that and figured out how to get better and how to get better quickly, they were both really aggressive learners,” Clarke said.
