Before every NBA Draft, pundits from outlets of all sizes weigh in on the prospects destined for the bright lights of the world’s biggest basketball league.
Each player’s game is forensically analysed by these same pundits, who pore over game footage like there’s no tomorrow.
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It all leads to the infamous scout reports released in the days and weeks preceding the draft as fans get all clued up on who could don their favourite team’s jersey.
Some reports are not far off the money, but others can whiff.
Just like Hoops Intellect’s scouting report of Josh Giddey.
Ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft, Giddey represented an enticing prospect given he did not come through the traditional college pathway in America.
Although he was a fresh-faced 18-year-old at the time, Giddey already had a season of basketball against grown men under his belt thanks to his time with the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL.
But it didn’t stop Hoops Intellect from producing a brutal report when it came to Giddey’s weaknesses.
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According to the channel, Giddey’s weaknesses included ball handling, shot creation/assertiveness, outside shooting, on-ball defence and athleticism.
Basically, as some fans joked at the time, Giddey’s weakness was basketball.
Other analysts were more specific when it came to their hesitations surrounding Giddey as a draft prospect.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie highlighted his defence as “more of a negative than a positive” ahead of the draft, noting he “got blown by regularly” by his opposite number.
However, Vecenie also pointed out it was likely due to Giddey getting acclimated to playing professional basketball.
Hoops Prospect’s R.C. Harris also noted Giddey’s relaxed playing style gives the perception he is “disengaged” when it came to defending.
“Too often, his hands are down, his stance is upright, and his feet are flat,” Harris wrote.
But when it came to Giddey’s strengths, a number of traits have only gotten better as the Aussie continues to hone his skills for the Thunder.
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Sporting News’ Kyle Irving described Giddey “as true of a floor general as they come” as well as “a savvy and flashy passer in the open floor.”
That analysis has certainly rung true as Giddey puts together plenty of highlight reel passes, zipping the ball to all ends of the court for his teammates to score.
His floor generalship was also on show for the Thunder’s play-in tournament win over the New Orleans Pelicans as he took the game by the horns and directed play with aplomb.
Vecenie also waxed lyrical about Giddey’s on-court vision.
“Also worth noting he [Giddey] has an utterly elite-level feel for the game,” Vecenie wrote.
“There isn’t another way to describe it. He thinks things through multiple steps ahead of the rest of the guys on the court.”
Given it’s just his second season in the NBA, there’s plenty of upside to the 20-year-old’s game.
Although he averages almost the same amount of rebounds and assists (7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 2021 and 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 2022), it is the pointscoring department where Giddey has improved.
In his first season, Giddey averaged 12.5 points per game but in his second season, he is up to 16.6 points per game.
As he continues to gain experience with his young Thunder teammates against the rest of the league, expect Giddey to keep proving the draft analysts wrong.
