OKLAHOMA CITY
(AP) — For the second time in five years, the Oklahoma City Thunder
went Down Under to find a first-round pick in the NBA draft, taking
Josh Giddey at No. 6 on Thursday night.
The
18-year-old Giddey, a 6-foot-8 guard from Melbourne, Australia,
attended the NBA Global Academy in 2019-20 and played last season
for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s National Basketball League.
He was named the league’s rookie of the year after averaging 10.9
points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-best 7.6 assists per game.
He already
has an Oklahoma connection: His sister, Hannah Giddey, is a
6-foot-1 forward headed into her sophomore season at Oral Roberts
in Tulsa, about 100 miles from Oklahoma City. Giddey called it a
“dream situation” to be able to play so close to his sister.
“Oklahoma is
actually one of my favorite teams and to be picked by them it’s a
dream come true,” he said. “So, love the guys, the coaches, the
staff on the team and really happy to be there.”
Oklahoma City
traded its second first-round pick, at No. 16, to Houston and chose
Alperen Sengun for the Rockets. The Thunder received a pair of
future first-round picks in return.
The Thunder
also took Tre Mann, a 6-foot-5 guard from Florida, with the No. 18
overall pick in the first round.
“We felt it
was an extremely productive night for us,” Thunder’general manager,
Sam Presti said. “We are excited about the players that we were
able to add and excited about those guys coming into the program.
They all bring something different and I think will be positive
contributors to the organization. They all have a lot of work in
front of them and this is just the starting point for their
careers. … We’re looking forward to walking with them through their
development paths.”
Giddey is the
first NBA Global Academy graduate to be drafted into the NBA and
the highest-drafted player from Australia since Ben Simmons, who
went first overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016.
Giddey is the
eighth Australian to be drafted in the first round. Although he
wasn’t from Australia, in 2017, the Thunder used the No. 21 overall
pick on Terrance Ferguson, who had played for the 36ers the
previous season.
“To follow on
from the guys we have had (from Australia) go through the NBA, it
means a lot to me and I looked up to those guys for a long time and
I speak to them and try and get advice from them,” Giddey said.
“The Australian basketball community is really tight. So, to have
those guys by my side and supporting me through this whole process
has been really good for me.”
Should Giddey
play for the Thunder next season, he’ll be the second teenager on
the Thunder roster, joining Aleksej Pokusevski, who won’t turn 20
until December. The Thunder obtained Pokusevski, the 17th pick of
the 2020 NBA draft, through a trade with Minnesota.
Giddey “is
somebody that really has a lot of room to grow as a basketball
player, but already has shown through his experience overseas the
ability to impact professional games at a very, very young age,”
Presti said. “He makes other people better and that’s a really
important trait as we continue to add other players to our
team.”
Mann averaged
16.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for Florida as a sophomore.
He finished eighth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring and
sixth in free-throw percentage (83.1) and assists per game (3.5).
He was an All-SEC second-team selection.
He’s the
first first-round draft pick produced by the Gators since Bradley
Beal in 2012.
“We’re all
just so excited for Tre,” Florida coach Mike White said. “He has
put in an incredible amount of work to get to this point, and his
dedication, commitment and maturity have helped him reach this
goal. He has earned this moment, and I couldn’t be happier for
him.”
In the second
round, the Thunder picked up 6-foot-9 forward Jeremiah
Robinson-Earl of Villanova. He led the Wildcats in scoring (15.7
points per game) and rebounding (8.5 per game) while helping them
advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.
The Thunder
swapped two of its second-round picks, at No. 34 and No. 36, with
New York for the rights to Robinson-Earl, who the Knicks selected
at No. 32.
“The Thunder
are lucky to be getting a high-character, hard working young man,”
Villanova coach Jay Wright said on Twitter. “Jeremiah is ready to
compete at the next level in the NBA.”
With the No.
55 pick, Oklahoma City selected Aaron Wiggins, a 6-foot-6 guard
from Maryland who averaged 14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5
assists per game last season as a junior. As a sophomore, he was
named as the Big Ten Conference’s sixth man of the year as the
Terrapins won the league title.