Australian basketball star Josh Giddey has begun his NBA off-season training – by taking to the courts in a local competition in Frankston.
The Melbourne-raised Chicago Bulls guard shocked locals at the Frankston Blues’ stadium by playing as a fill-in for the Vales in the Monday night men’s championship competition.
Footage emerged of Giddey knocking down a three-pointer, whipping off passes and delivering a highlight-reel block that wowed spectators – and those on his own team.
It’s a far cry from nailing monster half-court buzzer-beaters to torpedo LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers, but Giddey was right at home on the old floor at Dreamstreet Lending Arena.
Jesse Lans, who played against Giddey on Monday night, explained his team’s shock when they saw Giddey at the venue.
“It was an unreal experience. We just started warming up and one of our guys was like ‘look who’s in the stands’. And we were like ‘oh no, this game’s not going to go our way’,” he told Sharnelle and Bob on ABC Melbourne.
Bulls star Josh Giddey.Credit: AP
“But we pulled through, and we had a few really big scoring performances. I had 41 [points] and Blake Jackson had 50.”
Asked if he’d gotten the better of the NBA star, Lans said: “It felt like it. Honestly, if there was a time not to miss a shot, that was it.”
He said a crowd had grown as word spread that Giddey was there.
“I even heard that one of the games kind of got cancelled and they all made their way over,” he said.
“I was a little bit wary about [injuring an NBA star in a local game] … [but] kind of forgot about it once we all got going.”
Lans wasn’t sure what the connection was that got Giddey to the local game. But he said he didn’t care.
“To be honest, [I] stood absolutely no chance. He was much taller than you expect of someone at the point guard position. It was just another level to it. Unreal experience.”
Giddey has enjoyed a career season with the Bulls, averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, and is line for a bumper new five-year contract where he could earn more than $250 million.
The 22-year-old, now a restricted free agent, is currently on a four-year contract worth about $42 million.
Veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst has said he expects the Bulls will look to re-sign Giddey on a $47 million per season deal.
“This is the kind of play I thought he would have all year,” Windhorst told ESPN.
“The going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA is around $US30 million … and he is their starter.
“If you look at a guy like Immanuel Quickley, he got five years and $162 million ($257 million AUD) – that’s about $US32 million (about $50.8 million) a year. I’m sure Josh Giddey’s hoping for something like that.”
However, the Bulls could sign Giddey on a one-year deal, and make him play for a long-term deal.
Traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he had been the sixth overall pick in 2021, Giddey was embraced by the Bulls this season, and he became a key player in their run to the play-in rounds before falling short of the play-offs.
The son of former Melbourne Tigers forward Warwick Giddey, the highlight of the season for the Boomers guard was his buzzer beater at Chicago Stadium to sink the Lakers, capping a classy triple double of 25 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals.
Giddey lifted his output after the All-Star break, averaging 22.6 points, 10 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game.
He represented Australia at the Paris Olympics, and will be the man the team is built around come the 2028 Los Angeles games.
Fellow young NBA star Dyson Daniels, voted the NBA’s most improved player, is also back in Melbourne after his Atlanta Hawks also missed the play-offs.
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