Aussie rookie Giddey makes NBA history in leading Thunder past Knicks

NEW YORK – Josh Giddey mirrored his impressive run in the NBL’s Next Stars program in his NBA rookie year. 

On his way to becoming the sixth overall pick in last July’s NBA Draft, Giddey’s draft stock skyrocketed after becoming the youngest player to record a triple-double and consecutive games in NBL history. 

Nine months later, Giddey has also achieved that feat in the NBA. 

After becoming the youngest in NBA history to record a triple-double last month, Giddey followed through with another milestone Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time) at the world’s famous arena. 

The 19-year-old Australian rookie also became the youngest NBA player to record a triple-double in consecutive games after leading the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder to a 127-123 win in overtime against the sputtering New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden. 

“This was the place I was most excited when I got drafted to come in to play,” said Giddey, who dropped a career-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. “You hear so many things, so many stories about the Garden, and I had circled it on my calendar for a long time.”

Giddey broke the hearts of Knicks fans on Valentine’s Day with his smart plays, bending the Knicks defense to his will. He shone brightly under the spotlight of the iconic Garden floor, eclipsing Magic Johnson and Luka Doncic as the youngest player from a visiting team to record a triple-double against the Knicks. 

With his eighth 10-assist game, he also broke a tie with Luka Doncic for the third-most such games by a teenager in NBA history. Only LeBron James (11) and Stephon Marbury (9) have more. Giddey will not turn 20 until October. 

“The style he is playing with is contagious,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I think he has a domino effect on the team with how he plays when he is in that state of mind. I thought he was in against Chicago, and I thought he was in it again tonight.”

Last Saturday, he had 11 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds in a 106-101 loss to the Bulls. 

He made sure his triple-double effort won’t go to waste this time. He atoned for an inbound play late in regulation in overtime as he teamed up with fellow rookie Tre Mann, the 18th overall pick, to give the Thunder a 116-112 lead, which they never relinquished. 

Mann scored eight of his career-high 30 points in the overtime as he and Giddey stepped up in the absence of the Thunder’s top two players. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out until after the All-Star break with a sprained ankle. Lu Dort did not play in New York after sustaining a strained left shoulder during his 31-point effort in Chicago. 

“We did a good job of staying composed,” Giddey said. We had the ship steady. So, we were good in overtime.”

Julius Randle also logged in a triple-double — his first in the season and 13th in his career — but missed a potential game-winner at the end of regulation. 

“We’re just letting a lot of them go. Our last five [were] very winnable games,” said Randle, who produced 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. 

Randle committed seven turnovers, four in the fourth quarter and overtime, as they lost composure in a recurring fashion. They’ve blown large leads in their West Coast trip, including 23 against the Portland Trail Blazers last Saturday. 

The Knicks remained 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 25-33 record after slumping to their third loss in their last 15 games. 

The youngest team in the league, the Thunder, improved to 18-39 and are five wins away from surpassing their 22-win total last season with still 25 games left. 

Giddey is making a solid case for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, averaging 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as a starter. His strong performance has also solidified NBL’s status as a genuine pathway to the NBA, bolstering the hopes of 19-year old Kai Sotto, the Philippines’ strongest NBA prospect. 

“That's a really, really good league and one that has produced some NBA players recently,” said Thunder GM Sam Presti, referring to LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton when they drafted Giddey. “That was really helpful actually in our evaluation overall, just knowing the level of that league and the way that Josh was able to impact it.”

The 7-foot-3 Sotto signed a multi-year deal to play for Adelaide 36ers, Giddey’s former team, under NBL’s Next Stars program. Over his first six games in the NBL, Sotto is averaging 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the field in 15.6 minutes as a backup big man. 

In his lone NBL season, Giddey averaged 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 32 minutes as a starter for the 36ers. 

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.