OKC Thunder: Josh Giddey Opens Up About Season Turnaround

What has helped Josh Giddey to playing his best basketball with the regular season winding down?

Mar 6, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Josh Giddey (3) warms up / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Down the stretch of the NBA regular season, the most noteworthy situation around the Oklahoma City Thunder has been the emergence of Josh Giddey. Behind the majority of the Thunder's 51-22 record has been the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The team's depth has been huge for the sustained success, too. Lost in the mix, though, has been Josh Giddey, who has been underwhelming after a promising sophomore campaign.

As mentioned, Giddey is seeing a breakthrough late in the season. Evidently, there couldn't have been a more perfect time for the 6-foot-8 guard to start playing his best basketball. The postseason is right around the corner, and Giddey playing better makes the opposing defense's life much more difficult.

After Oklahoma City's 128-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday -- which saw Giddey post 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting -- he detailed his early season struggles and the dangers of riding the highs and lows.

"It's easy to feel good when things are going well, but I think if you get caught up in the highs and the lows, it sends your emotions on a roller coaster. I struggled with that early the first 50 or so games. I used to overthink everything. It's hard to play that way, to play freely and confidently when that's what's happening," Giddey explained after Friday night's victory.

Giddey is finding a more defined role for the Thunder, which has been difficult with both Williams and Holmgren playing some incredible basketball this season behind Gilgeous-Alexander. Teams were putting big-body centers on Giddey and ignoring him on the perimeter, clogging up driving lanes.

For a team like the Thunder, who relies heavily on paint touches and shooting at the rim, that wasn't feasible, especially for the playoffs. Change was needed, and was inevitable. Fortunately for himself, Giddey forced the change and his mindset adjustment has opened everything up for himself and the team.

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