Written By Donovan Holden
Josh Giddey: The most hype and hated NBA rookie in recent history?
The Australian rookie was drafted 6th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he has made his mark on the NBA very early in his young career. For example he goes viral almost every time he posts a TikTok, is a walking meme on Twitter, and is already looking like one of the most talented rookies in his class. All the attention started on draft night for Giddey. Right after he was picked, he was disrespected when a graphic of his “weaknesses” got displayed on national television. The graphic essentially said he was not good at basketball:
Proving the Haters Wrong
In just a short time in the Association Giddey is already silencing the haters. The Australian guard has already tallied two impressive scoring performances this season. Moreover he has disproven his “weaknesses” assigned to him during the draft. The Melbourne product had 19 points in a loss to Philadelphia, and the other he scored 18 points while also dishing out 10 assists. That game was the Thunder’s first victory over the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers. In that game he made history. Giddey just turned 19 earlier this month, and became the third youngest player in NBA history to record 10 assists in a game. Only behind LeBron James who did it twice.
Josh Giddey on Socials!
On TikTok Giddey has 290,000 followers and gets over 1 million views on almost every post. He is actually most famous for using the viral sound from Drake on one of his Instagram Live Streams back in 2019. Drake said, “What do you mean, ‘breathe, breathe?” Drake was responding to a fans comment. “Don’t tell me to breathe… Ayo, bring me a shot!” The 6th overall pick keeps going viral with this Drake audio and his fans love interacting with him as a result.
He is often made fun of on Twitter for resembling a high school varsity player rather than an actual NBA player. In addition to that his hair is already making him a staple in the NBA. Fans and haters love making comparisons to Josh Giddey and others with similar haircuts. Furthermore some people are even dressing their dogs in a Giddey jersey, and putting a wig on them for Halloween.
In short Josh Giddey seems to have overcome a lot of the hate from draft night and definitely has the attention of NBA fans. Between his unique look and early success on the court for the Thunder he should be in the mix for Rookie of the year all season long. Don’t sleep on Josh Giddey!
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