Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Josh Giddey has received plenty of praise over the last week, but there is no bigger stamp of approval than the one he got during All-Star media availability on Saturday.
When Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was asked about the 19-year-old Australian, he had nothing but great things to say about the Rookie of the Year candidate.
"He's really, really, really good," James stated plainly before diving deeper into his answer. "He has a great pace about the game. Great vision."
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As someone who ranks seventh on the NBA's all-time assists leaderboard, James knows a player with good passing instincts when he sees one.
"I've always loved pass-first guards who can see plays happen before they happen, and Josh is one of those kids who can definitely see the game a lot quicker than a lot of guys out on the floor.
"He's got three straight triple-doubles. He's playing beautiful basketball."
Earlier this season, Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, a record that was once held by LeBron up until 2017. He has since upped his career triple-double tally to four by way of recording three consecutive triple-doubles in the final three games leading into the All-Star break.
Giddey joined Hall of Famer and all-time great Oscar Robertson in NBA history as the only rookies to achieve that feat.
🇦🇺 @joshgiddey joins Oscar Robertson as the only rookies in NBA history to record three triple-doubles in a row!@okcthunder #ThunderUp #NBA75 #GiddeyUp pic.twitter.com/PyYjsD38U5
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) February 17, 2022
It wasn't the first time Giddey placed himself alongside elite company this season, either.
First, he joined LeBron and LaMelo Ball as the only teenagers in NBA history to tally 100 assists and 100 rebounds in their first 20 games. Then, he became the youngest player since LeBron to record 500 points, 200 assists and 200 rebounds through their first 45 games, joining an exclusive four-player list that also includes former Rookie of the Year winners Ball and Luka Doncic.
Even with the incredible rookie season Giddey is having, James had to award Oklahoma City's franchise MVP trophy to someone else.
"The MVP over there is Sam Presti. He's the MVP," James said of the Thunder's general manager.
"Josh Giddey is great but Sam Presti, I don't understand this guy's eye for talent. He drafted KD, Russ, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Josh Giddey... the list goes on and on. This guy is pretty damn good."
And on the spot, James didn't even mention one of Presti's biggest draft hits – former MVP James Harden.
Presti is currently in the process of trying to rebuild the Thunder from the ground up through the largest treasure chest of draft picks the NBA has ever seen, and Giddey was the first player taken with one of OKC's vault of picks.
With players like Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander manning the backcourt and a countless number of draft picks over the next few years, the Thunder should be back to competing for a playoff spot in the blink of an eye.
