Josh Giddey has continued his late season resurgence, scoring 31 points and blowing fans away with a wild circus shot in Oklahoma City’s 132-126 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday (AEDT).
The Thunder are chasing the reigning champion Denver Nuggets for top spot in the Western Conference but were without star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was sidelined with a right quadriceps contusion.
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Giddey carried the load in his absence, scoring 31 points to tie his career high.
The 21-year-old Australian produced an absurd highlight play in the fourth quarter.
With the Thunder trailing by one point, Giddey looked to attack the hoop but lost control of the ball as he went to dribble behind his back to get around a defender.
But he scrambled on the floor to reclaim possession and fired up an ambitious shot while he was sitting down on the court near the free throw line.
The ball somehow bounced off the hoop and went in as the shot clock ran out to give the Thunder back the lead.
Watch Josh Giddey’s wild shot in the video player above.
NBA fans nearly lost their minds when Washington Wizards star Jordan Poole appeared to consider throwing up a shot while on his backside near the three-point line earlier in the season.
It’s extremely rare to see a player even attempt a shot while sitting down, and viewers couldn’t believe Giddey’s Hail Mary went in.
The Athletic’s Andrew Schlect wrote on X: “Josh Giddey just shot and made a shot from the floor. Sitting on his butt … made the shot.”
Basketball writer Rylan Stiles joked: “Josh Giddey is playing horse.”
The NBA Memes account posted: “Josh Giddey just hit a shot from down under.”
OKC reporter Royce Young added: “Josh Giddey … sitting down. This game is crazy.”
OKC beat writer Brandon Rahbar said: “New Josh Giddey achievement unlocked: hitting buckets while in the sitting position.”
But despite Giddey’s efforts, the Rockets kept the pressure on the Golden State Warriors for the last play-in spot with an overtime victory over OKC that stretched Houston’s winning streak to 10 games.
OKC are tied with Minnesota on 50 wins, one less than Denver at the top of the Western Conference standings with 10 games left in the NBA regular season.
Giddey had seen his court time decrease with the Thunder opting to mix and match their closing line-ups alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalin Williams.
But now the mid-season trade deadline has long passed, it appears Giddey is playing with renewed freedom and improved his shooting after teams disrespected his shot by leaving him wide open.
Earlier this month, Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic stunned commentators when he chose not to defend Giddey particularly from behind the arc.
But it seems like Giddey has turned a corner, hitting a career-high five three pointers from eight attempts against the New Orleans Pelicans in a season-high 25 point haul on Wednesday (AEDT). He also had nine rebounds and four assists.
“It’s easy to get caught up in your own head and you own game,” Giddey said after the loss to Houston.
“We’re a winning team. I’m in a really, really good place. I’ve got great people around me.
“You’re gonna have ebbs and flows as a young player in your career in the season and it’s just how well we can manage the highs and lows and stick with it.
“I’m being decisive in what I do. Not thinking about it, not hesitating. Shooting with confidence. Not letting the last shot impact the next one and just playing each possession at it comes.
“He’s strung together a good amount of games,” Thunder coach Mark Daignealt said of Giddey post-game.
“He’s getting his driving and passing into the game. When he pitches ahead in transition, that really ignites us and gets us going offensively.
“He played another great offensive game tonight. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and aggression. That’s how we need him to play.”
With AFP