Giddey puts faith in Sixers to realise his dreams

Josh Giddey basically had the option of any college or professional team he wanted to finalise his preparations to nominate for the NBA Draft, but it was the NBL and the Adelaide 36ers that he felt was the best fit and remains steadfast that it was the right decision.

Upon completing his time in high school and as part of the NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport, with the knowledge he needed a season at least somewhere to fine tune his game before nominating for the NBA Draft, Giddey had a big decision to make.

All the big NCAA Division 1 programs were recruiting him heavily to spend at least one year in their set ups while back in Australia, there wouldn’t have been an NBL team for the 2020/21 season that wouldn’t have wanted him on their rosters as part of the Next Stars program.

With this decision to have a big impact on how ready he'd be for the 2021 NBA Draft, there was a lot on the line for the 18-year-old but he ended up deciding the NBL and playing against men, and learning in a professional environment would be his best preparation.

Then it was about which NBL club and he ended up choosing one of the great rivals of his father Warwick's, the 36ers after his dad won two championships in a 449-game career mostly spent with the Melbourne Tigers.

Giddey enjoyed the process of deciding on his immediate future but once he met with Sixers hierarchy Jeff van Groningen and Grant Kelley, his decision was pretty much made and he hasn’t regretted it for a second since.

"For me it was a challenging and fun process. Obviously I was still weighing up both college and professional options, but I met with Jeff and Grant when I was in Sydney after going there to watch the Melbourne-Sydney semi-final," said on the Adelaide 36ers Official Podcast, Sixers Fix with Scott Ninnis.

"So we caught up for lunch and we spoke for a couple of hours, and I really loved the new direction they wanted to head in and the pieces they were going to implement into the organisation. 

"I wanted to be part of that and I thought the opportunity in Adelaide would benefit me for the long-term. I thought I made the right decision coming here and that's why I've landed here."

The lure of playing at a big school and being part of college basketball was obviously there for Giddey, but on the back of seeing how well the Next Stars program worked out for LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton this past NBL season, he wanted to put his faith in that in preparations for the NBA.

"I did have a couple of schools to choose from and it was tough, but I just thought coming into a pro environment at such a young age would benefit me than college," he said.

"That's not a knock on college because obviously it does have its pro's, but I just thought for me personally with LaMelo and RJ having come through the Next Star, it brought a lot of attention to the league. 

"And I just thought being in a professional environment at 18 years old is only going to help me for the long-term."

When Giddey did commit to joining the 36ers he had no idea that by January he still wouldn’t have made his NBL debut and would still be embarking on the longest pre-season that anyone has been part of.

But COVID-19 continues to create a lot of things the world hasn’t seen before, but now that the NBL season is just two weeks away and the Sixers have another couple of games against Cairns this coming week, his excitement is building.

"It has been a long pre-season I think for everyone especially with these uncertain times going on in the world. It has been a very challenging and long off-season, but for me it's my first one so I haven’t experienced a normal but for some of the older guys it has been long and challenge," Giddey said.

"But for me it's been good to get to know the guys and practicing every day, and we had a couple of good hit outs against Brisbane. I think we are tracking really well as a team and now it's getting close and we are looking forward to it."

Giddey has already got a glimpse of playing in front of the Adelaide fans with the two pre-season matches back in November against the Brisbane Bullets.

He delivered impressive performances running the point as well and it's only got him more excited to now play at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in the NBL season proper.

"It was awesome and it was the first time I've played in front of a big crowd like that for a long time. I've heard so much about the Adelaide atmosphere and fan base, and it lived up to the expectations I had for it," he said.

"But it was only half capacity which is crazy so I think with a full house at the Entertainment Centre I think it's going to be unreal to play in front of. I'm really looking forward to that this year and hopefully we're able to get a packed house there."

A big part in Giddey's development this season in the NBL is going to come down to the coaching he receives and he already couldn’t be more impressed with what he is being provided by head coach Conner Henry and lead assistant Jamie Pearlman.

"I couldn’t speak highly enough of Conner and Jamie, they've been awesome," Giddey said.

"They are really engaged with the group and we have a lot of team meetings where we go through video and our team identity, and I think they've been awesome in gelling the team together and putting a system in place that everyone has bought into. 

"Everything has been awesome with them and I'm looking forward to heading into the season with them."

Giddey is also looking forward to developing along some quality and experienced teammates this season in Adelaide, and NBA-experienced guard Donald Sloan heads that list.

"I think at this stage Sloan and I might share the backcourt roles but I'm really looking forward to him coming," he said.

"I think he's going to be awesome for me and he's an NBA veteran I can learn from, and he has been around the world playing against the best players in the world.

"Sloan coming in is going to be massive not only for me but for the team and I think he's going to be a vital piece of our team in helping us succeed this year. 

"And then Tony (Crocker) has played at a high level in Europe for a long time and he's another veteran guy who will be able to help our team. I'm really excited to add those guys to our team."

Right now Giddey's plan should his NBL season with the 36ers go as he hopes is to nominate for the NBA Draft this year. 

He is expected right now to at least be a top 10 pick and that's what his aim is, but should his development not quite be as rapid as he hopes, he knows there's always the security of putting off his nomination until 2022.

"It is the plan of now but it kind of just depends on a lot of things. I can say I want to nominate but if I don’t play that well, there's no point if I know I'm not going to get taken so it does depend how I play this season," he said.

"It is the plan as of now to go into the 2021 Draft but it just depends on how this season goes. I'm obviously not going to say I'll be the No. 1 pick because I don’t know what will happen eight months from now, but that is the dream for everyone who plays basketball to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. 

"But I'm not really fussed where I get picked, being in the NBA has been my dream since I was little so just being there would be a dream come true. Hopefully I can be looked at as a high draft pick when that time comes."

It's fair to say that five, 10 or 15 years ago and Giddey might have thought he had to look to college or Europe to finalise his game to be ready for the NBA.

However with Next Star examples like Ball and Hampton, and then others like James Ennis, Torrey Craig, Terrence Ferguson, Brian Bowen and more recent Jae'Sean Tate showing what a genuine pathway the NBL is.

"The NBL is now a legitimate pathway and we've seen that not just with the Next Star program but also with other players who have now been able to go and get a spot in the NBA after playing here," Giddey said.

"Then not only that, but coaches from here have gone to join the NBA and it's a legitimate pathway from Basketball Australia and it's awesome to see so many guys succeeding from the NBL."