“Few players have as much momentum up the board right now as Giddey,” Senior Writer Sam Vecenie said.
“He posted back-to-back triple-doubles in the Australian NBL last week, showcasing his extremely high-level feel for the game.
“He’s one of the smartest players in the draft, especially for a teenager.”
Vecenie had previously placed Giddey at 16th in a mock draft comprised in mid-March, but the impressive form of Giddey for Adelaide has seen the 18-year-old rise.
“He has an innate understanding of where and how to get his teammates the ball in advantageous positions. That’s his key skill," he said.
“At 6-8 without elite athleticism, Giddey is more a secondary playmaker in the vein of a Joe Ingles as opposed to a primary point guard. But he should be able to make plays out of ball screens.
Giddey recently revealed in an interview with SBS Courtisde’s Megan Hustwaite that he regularly communicates with Utah Jazz and Australian Boomers star Ingles.
“He just texts me, and he usually texts me after bad games which is what I like most because he kind of helps me through it,” Giddey said.
“As an 18-year-old after a bad game I'm annoyed and sad and Joe is usually the guy I talk to because he kind of knows where I'm coming from because he was an 18 year old in this league, at one point and he's at where I want to get to.”
Vecenie did have a few pointers for Giddey.
“The keys here will be shooting and an emphasis on defensive fundamentals. He needs to stay lower in his defensive stance. The jumper should improve in time, as nothing is broken mechanically.”
Last week Giddey became the first Australian in history to record back-to-back triple doubles.
Giddey will be back in action this Sunday when Adelaide takes on the Sydney Kings at 3 pm. A game that you can watch LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
