OKC Thunder's Josh Giddey Lays Out Rule Changes for International Play

The Thunder guard explained a few adjustments he'd make to the NBL if he were the commissioner.

Josh Giddey has played basketball worldwide, but the Oklahoma City Thunder star would like to see the NBA’s influence expanded.

In a recent article for Herald Sun in Australia, Giddey broke down some rule changes he would like to see in the NBL, where he played for the Adelaide 36ers before coming to the NBA. Currently, the NBL is governed by FIBA and does not make its own rules, leaving room for potential improvement.

Giddey’s interest in moves like rule changes is no surprise, as he mentioned his interest in working on the other side of basketball during his exit interview.

“When I retire, I want to be a GM or an owner or something of a team,” Giddey said.

While being a league commissioner is much different than working for a team, Giddey’s ambition to improve basketball exists either way. In a hypothetical scenario where Giddey is commissioner of the NBL, he laid out three specific rules he would alter.

Commissioner Giddey 👀

Check out the rule changes Josh Giddey would enforce in the thread below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SP5wJYnYdw

— NBL (@NBL) September 15, 2023

Giddey’s first rule change would be implementing the defensive three-second violation in the NBL. Giddey explained that since defensive players can essentially camp underneath the rim, an open lane for easy baskets at the rim does not exist as frequently as it does in the NBA.

In the NBA, defenders have to move out of the lane to avoid a three-second violation, and it allows ball handlers who get by their defenders to be rewarded with more space to operate. Giddey’s first rule change follows other international NBA players who have said rules like this make it easier to score in the NBA than in international play.

Aside from making it easier to score, Giddey would like to see those numbers rise naturally by increasing the length of games. NBL games use 10-minute quarters and have eight fewer minutes of play than NBA games.

Forty-minute games can skew statistical comparisons between NBL and NBA players. Along with the stats issue, Giddey “selfishly” argued that the games simply end too quickly, and he wants to watch as much basketball as possible.

Giddey’s third rule change is right in line with his previous one. Along with wanting to watch more basketball, Giddey wants star players on the floor as much as possible.

He thinks raising the foul out from five to the NBA’s six would have that effect. As Giddey mentioned, if a star picks up two first-quarter fouls, they might not see the floor again until after halftime since players are allowed just five total.

Of course, this rule change would make the most sense in combination with a time increase. A 20% increase in fouls would be a natural addition to a 20% increase in minutes played.

It seems that after two seasons of playing in the NBA, Giddey has come to prefer the structure of the league over international play. And if Giddey ever gets his say one day, the NBA could become the standard for the rest of the world.

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