The first phone call Boomers coach Brian Goorjian made on the morning after Australia’s historic Olympic bronze medal-winning match in Tokyo was to the most influential figure among several across his long career. The phone call Lindsay Gaze spent his life earning The Gazes’ - ‘You’re always part of the family’ A product of the Melbourne Tigers, the NBA Global Academy and the finishing school that was the Adelaide 36ers via the NBL’s Next Stars program, Giddey has barged through the front door of the world’s premier competition in the first quarter of his rookie year. No hard feelings, Giddey says of the Embiid statement, but nor are any more welcomes necessary, for this is a kid who has already arrived. What drew the ire of the OKC home crowd and an apologetic handshake from the imposing Embiid was less interesting than what happened next: the No.6 draft pick not only dusted himself off to make both free throws en route to 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, he then stripped Embiid of possession with his fourth steal and iced that next play with a calm three.
“That was kind of my ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment.’’Īnother followed late in round three, courtesy of Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid, who took out the Australian guard with a tough, physical block as Giddey attempted his own dunk off a fast break. “Giannis put his shoulder right through my chest and then dunked the ball,’’ Giddey says. Josh Giddey’s initial hey-kid-you’re-in-the-big-time-now memo arrived on his 19th birthday, delivered by Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo during a pre-season game in which the NBA champions hosted Oklahoma City Thunder.
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