Josh Giddey Bio
Joshua James Giddey (born 10 October 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Giddey is the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, having done so at 19 years and 84 days old. He also became the first rookie since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1961 to record three consecutive triple-doubles.
Standing 201 cm (6 ft 7 in) tall and listed at 98 kg, Giddey is a versatile point-forward known for his passing, court vision and rebounding from the guard position. He has represented Australia at multiple age-group and senior levels, including the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he was named the tournament’s Rising Star.
Early Life and Background
Joshua James Giddey was born on 10 October 2002 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He grew up in the suburb of Yarraville and is the son of Kim and Warrick Giddey, both former professional basketball players. Warrick Giddey played for the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Tigers in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) and earlier represented Australia in rugby league and rugby union at the schoolboy level, while Kim Giddey played for the Melbourne Tigers women’s team in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). His younger sister, Hannah, also played college basketball in the United States, including stints at Oral Roberts and Southern Nazarene University.
Giddey attended St Kevin’s College in Toorak from Years 7 to 10 and grew up supporting the Hawthorn Football Club of the Australian Football League. He later enrolled at UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra in Canberra, where he trained full-time with the NBA Global Academy, a development centre located at the Australian Institute of Sport. The pathway combined elite schooling with professional-level training against older competition.
At the 2019 Australian Under-18 Championships, Giddey averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6 assists per game, leading VIC Metro to the title. In January 2020, he helped the NBA Global Academy win the Torneo Junior Ciutat de L’Hospitalet in Barcelona and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following month he participated in Basketball Without Borders during NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, earning all-star honours at the camp.
Path to Professional Basketball
On 23 February 2020, Giddey made his senior debut for Australia during a 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier, recording 11 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds in just 11 minutes as the Boomers defeated Hong Kong 115–52. At 17, he became the youngest player to represent Australia’s senior men’s team since Ben Simmons in 2013. Giddey was a late cut from the squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but was retained as one of three emergency players, gaining valuable experience inside the national-team programme.
On 12 March 2020, Giddey signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL as part of the league’s Next Stars program, becoming the first Australian player ever selected for the developmental initiative. He turned down scholarship offers from several NCAA Division I programs, including Arizona, to pursue the professional route. During the 2020–21 NBL season, he quickly established himself as one of the league’s most creative playmakers.
On 26 April 2021, Giddey recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a loss to the New Zealand Breakers, becoming the youngest Australian in NBL history to record a triple-double. Five days later he posted 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds against the Brisbane Bullets, becoming the first Australian to record triple-doubles in consecutive games. He added a third triple-double on 9 May against the Sydney Kings before being released from the active roster on 17 May to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft. He finished the season averaging 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 7.6 assists per game across 28 appearances and was named the NBL Rookie of the Year.
Josh Giddey Career
Early Career (2020–2021)
Giddey’s first professional chapter came with the Adelaide 36ers under the NBL’s Next Stars banner. The program is designed to give top draft-eligible prospects a professional environment rather than the traditional college route, and Giddey handled the jump with remarkable poise for a teenager. He regularly guarded older, more physical opponents while serving as a primary playmaker.
His rookie averages of 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists drew the attention of NBA scouts, while his three triple-doubles in 2021 set the stage for his draft projection. The NBL Rookie of the Year award confirmed his status as the most polished Australian prospect of his class, leading directly to his pre-draft declaration on 27 April 2021.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2021–2024)
On 29 July 2021, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Giddey with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and he signed his rookie contract on 8 August. He made his NBA debut on 20 October 2021, posting four points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz, and recorded his first double-double a week later against the Los Angeles Lakers. By the end of his rookie October, he had been named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month, an award he would win four consecutive times from October 2021 through February 2022.
On 2 January 2022, Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks and surpassing the previous record held by LaMelo Ball. He finished the 2021–22 season averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists, the only rookie to record at least 500 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
In his second season, Giddey joined Luka Dončić, Ben Simmons and Grant Hill as the only players in NBA history to record at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists within their first 100 career games. On 11 January 2024, he logged 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in just 22 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the first player in NBA history to post a triple-double on 100 percent field-goal accuracy in under 25 minutes.
Chicago Bulls (2024–Present)
On 21 June 2024, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Alex Caruso. The move paired Giddey with a rebuilding roster that needed his size, vision and playmaking. He quickly became a central figure in the Bulls’ rotation, and the 2024–25 campaign proved to be his most productive statistical season to date.
On 2 December 2024, Giddey recorded 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over the Brooklyn Nets, his first triple-double as a Bull. He added further triple-doubles against the Milwaukee Bucks (28 December), the Miami Heat (8 March) and the Los Angeles Lakers (22 March), with the Lakers game featuring a near quadruple-double of 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and a career-high 8 steals. On 27 March 2025, his buzzer-beating triple-double against the Lakers featured a half-court game-winner, and he joined Michael Jordan as the only Bulls in franchise history to record at least five triple-doubles in a single season.
On 9 September 2025, Giddey signed a four-year, 100-million-dollar contract to remain with the Chicago Bulls. He opened the 2025–26 season in historic fashion, scoring a career-high 32 points with 10 rebounds and 9 assists in a 135–125 win over the New York Knicks on 31 October, leading Chicago to its first 5–0 start since 1996–97. He added back-to-back triple-doubles against the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers in November and December, joining Michael Jordan as the only players with at least ten triple-doubles in Bulls history.
Driving Style and Strengths
Giddey operates primarily as a point-forward, using his 201 cm frame to see over defenders and deliver passes from multiple angles. He excels as a transition playmaker, an offensive rebounder and a half-court facilitator, and his three-point shooting improved noticeably during the 2024–25 season. Defensively, his length and anticipation have translated into career-best steal numbers, including a career-high 8 steals against the Lakers in March 2025.
Notable Events and Milestones
Giddey’s most celebrated milestones include becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double in January 2022 and the first rookie since Oscar Robertson in 1961 to post three consecutive triple-doubles. With the Bulls, he joined Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as the only players in franchise history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season, and his 32-point performance against the Knicks on 31 October 2025 delivered the franchise’s best start in nearly three decades.
Josh Giddey Career Wins
Although Giddey’s individual accolades have come primarily in the form of statistical milestones and league honours rather than championship rings, his career has been defined by record-setting performances. He is the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, the only rookie to combine 500 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists in a season, and the first Bull since Michael Jordan to post five triple-doubles in a single campaign.
NBA Highlights
Giddey has recorded more than a dozen career triple-doubles across the regular season, with his ten-plus as a Chicago Bull placing him second in franchise history behind Michael Jordan. His career-high 32 points came against the New York Knicks on 31 October 2025, and he posted a then-career-high 28 points against the Brooklyn Nets on 15 January 2023. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2022 and won four consecutive Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards to open his career.
Other Wins and Performances
Internationally, Giddey helped Australia win gold at the 2019 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championship and was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He was recognised as the FIBA Basketball World Cup Rising Star after the 2023 tournament, where he averaged 19.4 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Josh Giddey Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Basketball runs deep in the Giddey household. Both of his parents, Warrick and Kim Giddey, played professionally in Australia, with Warrick suiting up for the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Tigers in the NBL after a decorated schoolboy career in rugby league and rugby union. Kim played for the Melbourne Tigers women’s team in the WNBL, giving Josh an early and constant connection to the professional game.
Personal Life
Giddey’s younger sister, Hannah, followed the family into the sport, playing two years at Oral Roberts before spending the 2022–23 season at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Giddey grew up in Melbourne’s inner-western suburb of Yarraville and maintains ties to Australia while based in the United States for the NBA season.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 calendar year has been the most prolific stretch of Giddey’s career. In the closing months of the 2024–25 campaign he became only the second player in Chicago Bulls history, after Michael Jordan, to record five triple-doubles in a single season, capped by a half-court buzzer-beater against the Los Angeles Lakers on 27 March 2025. His near quadruple-double of 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds and 8 steals against the Lakers two weeks earlier underlined his two-way growth.
On 9 September 2025, Giddey committed his long-term future to the Bulls by signing a four-year, 100-million-dollar contract extension. He opened the 2025–26 season with a career-high 32 points against the New York Knicks, helping Chicago start 5–0 for the first time since the 1996–97 season, and added back-to-back triple-doubles against the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers in November and December.
Through the early portion of the 2025–26 season, Giddey has emerged as the offensive engine of a young Bulls roster, with his assist and rebounding numbers tracking toward career highs. The combination of his improved perimeter shooting, defensive engagement and veteran leadership has positioned Chicago as a potential Eastern Conference dark horse, while Giddey himself has entered conversations about an All-Star selection for the first time in his career.