Josh Giddey

Draft Notes

Josh Giddey is a tall, lanky and talented point guard from Australia who is looking like a lottery pick with top 8 potential. He put on a show down-under, as a teenager playing against grown men (sound familiar?).

Giddey is a skilled ball handler who can drive to the hoop with either hand and has an advanced feel for the game. His father Warrick played in the NBL and you can tell that Josh has been around the game his whole life.

He’s got great height for a point guard allowing him to pass over the defense and use his superior court vision to get easy shots for his teammates. He controls the pace of the game and never seems to be rushed or in a hurry. His handles are impressive and he rarely looses control, even dribbling in traffic. He doesn’t get very low on his drives but still manages to maintain control of the ball, even with a high dribble.

His 6-8 height also allows him to score in the lane where he shows a nice array of runners and floaters with a nice soft touch around the rim and from in the lane.

Giddey is a decent outside shooter who shoots kind of a set shot. He doesn’t have the quickest release and will have to speed up his shot to excel at the next level and get more consistent but at his young age and with good work ethic there’s every reason to believe he’ll improve his outside shot. His landing on his shot is a big awkward, as his legs split apart, with one landing in front of the other. Expect NBA coaches to clean up his shooting mechanics and I’d bet on him becoming a high level 3pt shooter over the next few seasons.

Giddey isn’t the quickest of athletes and isn’t much of an above the rim player at this point and there are some questions about how his defense will translate to the NBA level. He also lacks length, with a reported even wingspan of 6-8.

He’s got a long ways to go but at only 18/going on 19 years old he has tantalizing tools and his production in the NBL can’t be overlooked.

Comparisons

• Shake Milton+
• taller Brent Barry (minus some of the athleticism)
• a much faster version of Kyle Anderson (Slo Mo)

Draft Projection

lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft

2021 Point Guard Rankings

1. Cade Cunningham – 6-8 – Oklahoma St.
2. Jalen Suggs – 6-4 – Gonzaga
3. Josh Giddey – 6-8 – Australia
4. Davion Mitchell – 6-2 – Baylor
5. Jared Butler – 6-3 – Baylor
6. Tre Mann – 6-5 – Florida
7. Miles McBride – 6-2 – West Virginia
8. Nah’Shon Hyland – 6-3 – VCU
9. Sharife Cooper 6-0 – Auburn
10. Ayo Dosunmu – 6-5 – Illinois
11. Joel Ayayi – 6-5 – Gonzaga
12. Rokas Jokubaitis – 6-4 – Lithuania
13. Duane Washington Jr. – 6-3 – Ohio State
14. Dalano Banton – 6-9 – Nebraska
15. Daishon Nix – 6-4 – G League
16. David Johnson – 6-5 – Louisville
17. Jason Preston – 6-4 – Ohio
18. D.J. Carton – 6-1 – Marquette
19. Javonte Smart – 6-4 – LSU
20. Mac McClung – 6-2 – Texas Tech

2020

1. LaMelo Ball – 6-7 – USA
2. Tyrese Haliburton – 6-5 – Iowa State
3. Killian Hayes – 6-5 – France
4. Kira Lewis – 6-3 – Alabama
5. Tyrell Terry – 6-1 – Stanford
6. Cole Anthony – 6-2 – UNC
7. Grant Riller – 6-3 – Charleston
8. Theo Maledon – 6-5 – France
9. Malachi Flynn – 6-2 – San Diego St.
10. Devon Dotson – 6-2 – Kansas
11. Ty-Shon Alexander – 6-4 – Creighton
12. Nico Mannion – 6-2 – Arizona
13. Payton Pritchard – 6-2 – Oregon
14. Yam Madar – 6-3 – Israel
15. Abdoulaye N-Doye – 6-7 – France
16. Ashton Hagans – 6-3 – Kentucky
17. Cassius Winston – 6-1 – Michigan State
18. Tre Jones – 6-1 – Duke
19. Markus Howard – 5-11 – Marquette