Josh Giddey copped it from the vocal and raucous Minnesota fans.
The Australian star was booed loudly at Target Centre whenever he got the ball in Oklahoma City’s thrilling 106-103 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday (all times AEDT).
It comes as the NBA opened an investigation into Giddey amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a minor, though the Thunder young gun is currently free to play subject to any actions from the league.
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Giddey’s second game since the claims emerged was much more hostile than the 21-year old’s first appearance in front of his home fans.
Experiencing the toughest crowd of his three-season career, Giddey was was jeered from the moment he touched the ball in the first quarter as it was clear he was going to be targeted by Wolves supporters all game.
The only time the Aussie was cheered was when he turned the ball over early in the second term, then he again when he missed a free throw minutes later.
The brutal treatment didn’t stop in the second half either, with Giddey booed throughout the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, Giddey in the third term was blocked at the rim by Rudy Gobert to the sound of a loud applause, while the Aussie was again cheered later in the period when he missed a three-pointer.
Though the extra attention didn’t seem to phase the Aussie, he had limited impact and was generally passive – albeit against the NBA’s No. 2 rated defensive team. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.
Potentially adding to the hostility was that the Wolves and Thunder are Northwest division rivals – and currently sitting first and second respectively in the Western Conference standings in what made for a competitive showdown.
Though there are plenty of NBA fan bases more renowned for their vocal crowds, both for good and bad, Giddey may face.
Giddey starts for OKC amid investigation | 00:50
A game that was largely tight all the way through, OKC raced out to a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter but wasn’ allowed to get any more separation from Minnesota as the hosts stayed at arms length.
The Wolves continued to claw back the lead in the third before taking the lead midway through the period after Anthony Edwards made a technical foul.
In grim scenes however for Minnesota fans, Edwards had to exit for the locker room later in the third quarter after landing awkwardly on an aggressive drive to the rim minutes earlier – first trying to play through the setback before succumbing to the pain.
Edwards returned to the bench in the fourth quarter but didn’t come back into the game. The man who replaced Edwards, Troy Brown Jr, led Minnesota to victory after scoring 12 of his 17 points in the final term to carry Chris Finch’s side home.
Over a two-minute stretch, Brown hit a pair of free throws, three-pointer and driving layup to extend the Wolves’ lead to 103-98 with 32 seconds left in the game as an unlikely clutch hero.
Chet Holmgren responded with a triple to keep the game alive and Brown missed a free throw in the dying seconds to hand OKC one final chance to tie the game – but Gilgeous-Alexander missed a 37-foot jumper to seal the result.
Edwards’ 21 points in 28 minutes led the Wolves and Gobert added 17 points, 16 boards and four blocks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a team-high 32 points for the Thunder on 12-of-22 shooting with three steals and two blocks and Holmgren chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and six dimes.
It saw Minnesota extend its lead at the top of the West standings, improving to 13-4 overall, while OKC suffered a second-straight loss to fall to 11-6.
