Giddey ready to lead generations of baby boomers to Olympic glory

Josh Giddey is ready to get back to what he does best.

From the moment Giddey was tipped as one of Australia’s brightest young basketball players, Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian had entertained the idea of ​​putting the ball in the 6’8 point guard’s hands and letting him roam free.

Giddey was put in charge at last year’s World Cup, averaging 19.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game; the Boomers underperformed as they struggled to introduce new faces into the squad.

Now, as the 2024 Paris Olympics approach, baby boomers are a year into this inherently complex generational transition, and Giddey is ready to take the lead.

“To come back here in this environment, to handle the ball a little bit more, to be the playmaker that I see myself being, to lead this team forward, it’s something I’ve been looking forward to doing for a number of years,” Giddey said on Sunday as the Boomers’ 12-man squad was officially named in Australia’s Olympic squad.

“On top of all that, just being around these guys again – the Boomers environment – ​​is something really special. Having the ball in my hands, that’s how I like to play, and I’m fortunate to have good guys around me who really make my job easier as a leader.”

Giddey is coming off a volatile season with the Oklahoma City Thunder that saw him shift his role, playing more off the ball and significantly decreasing his on-ball reps. Shortly after the NBA season ended, the 21-year-old was traded to the Chicago Bulls, where he is expected to return to the high usage level he had earlier in his career.

The Olympics will remind everyone what Giddey can do with the ball in his hands and provide the Australian with an opportunity to showcase his IQ and ability to create as the team’s primary initiator.

“What’s going to help us is defense and how we want to hang on to it, that can get us out of it,” Patty Mills said. “When Gids has the ball in transition and semi-transition situations, he’s arguably one of the best in the world in that situation. They’re a great team, young guys, older guys, high FIBA ​​basketball IQs, so we’re looking forward to playing.”

This will be the first Olympics for Giddey, who at 18 was one of the last to be cut from the team ahead of Tokyo 2021. He says not making that team “was a tough pill to swallow,” though Goorjian has repeatedly praised Giddey for continuing to stay connected to the program despite the decision.

On Sunday, alongside the Opals and Gangurrus at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Giddey was among the final team of 12 Boomers to be presented with their oversized Qantas boarding passes to Paris, before taking part in a training session.

“It’s definitely a special moment,” Giddey said of the specialness of the moment. “As is being selected.”

“Making your Olympic debut is a huge accomplishment for an Australian. I know how proud the guys who have played on this team before me are to represent the green and gold. To have the opportunity to do it at such an early stage in my career is very special, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

“As an Australian kid you idolise those guys, you idolise the Boomers and the Green and Gold. To now be in a position to represent my country at the Olympics is very exciting and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

Sunday’s event was a significant and historic day for the Boomers and Opals – Lauren Jackson, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles all secured places at their fifth Olympics – but it was also notable because of who wasn’t there.

The Boomers’ 17-man squad had been whittled down to 12 players just days earlier – after two warm-up games against China in Melbourne – with a few notable omissions dominating the conversation within the Australian basketball community. The most surprising cut Goorjian and his team made was not selecting Matisse Thybulle from that Olympic team; the Portland Trail Blazers forward was one of Australia’s best players in Tokyo, and widely considered a safe bet to go to Paris.

Asked if this was the toughest selection process he’s ever been a part of, Goorjian said “yes, sir” and highlighted how it came down to role definition when building around the Boomers’ core.

“That was, in my time, the toughest decision I had to make: cutting that group from 17 to 12, and the process itself of cutting five guys that night,” said Goorjian, who will be competing in his fourth Olympics as the Boomers’ head coach.

“And those are the ones you cut, because they are top players. It was tough.

“The other thing that was difficult was there were 12 players and you had to pick four to play. You had to pick this one as No. 10, this one as No. 11 and this one as No. 12. It wasn’t until the second game (against China) that Dyson Daniels, Josh Green, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles were on the field together. When we got that group together and in the second half, it became clear – we knew the strengths of the other pieces – which pieces went well with that.”

“Then there was a big discussion about minutes and the end of the bench. The teams that I’ve seen that have really struggled during my time at the Olympics and that’s led to disappointments is when you have numbers 10, 11 and 12 on the bench, sitting there wondering, ‘Why am I not playing?’ Then you have numbers 9, 8, 7, who have to share minutes; none of them are happy.

“That was part of the discussion when you had Matisse in the position. You have four people in that defensive role, running up the field, putting pressure on the ball; we just felt we had to make the move on one of them.”

Goorjian added: “Going in that room and making those five cuts all week, there’s something in your gut that’s worse than the pressure of actually playing. These are guys you care about, guys you care about, and NBA players. It was really tough.”

Thybulle returned to the United States on Saturday, one of five players left off the extended squad, along with Dejan Vasiljevic, Chris Goulding, Jack White and Xavier Cooks.

“When you have players like that missing from the team, it’s more of a compliment to the guys we have and the culture and environment we’ve built in Australian basketball,” Giddey said. “It’s tough to see someone missing… but we’ve got confidence in our 12 players, we’ve got faith in them, and we think we’ve got a team that can go all the way and do something really special.”

The Boomers squad was confirmed on Sunday, with Giddey joining Mills, Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova, Danté Exum, Josh Green, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Will Magnay and Jack McVeigh.

Goorjian and her coaching staff began camp with a focus on defensive excellence (there was a significant drop-off in defence between Tokyo 2021 and the last World Cup campaign) while adding general toughness to the group. That allowed players like Dellavedova, Magnay and McVeigh to make the final roster; the latter two, both members of the NBL championship-winning Tasmanian JackJumpers, to compete in their first Olympics alongside Giddey and Daniels.

The Boomers had a lively practice on Saturday – Goorjian said getting through the selection process took some of the weight off the players’ shoulders – and after their time on the field on Sunday, they will now take a few days off to regroup and get back up to speed. The plan is then to fly to Abu Dhabi on July 10 to prepare for exhibition games against Team USA and Serbia, before flying to Paris, France.

While Australia still wait to see who will complete their squad for Paris – the Olympic qualifying tournaments will produce those two teams by the time they wake up on Monday – Goorjian is confident he and his team have created the right “balance” with the selections, and there is hope the multiple generations of Boomers involved in this team will integrate more effectively than they did at the World Cup.

“The great thing about this team is we stay connected throughout the NBA season, throughout our offseasons,” Giddey said.

“We find ways to stay in touch and not let playing together pass us by, never to see each other again until the next campaign.

“It’s a very tight-knit group, from top to bottom. Like I said, the guys who have been around this team for a long time set the tone from day one of training camp. It’s up to everyone to do that. We have a great group of guys who have really bought into what we’re trying to do. We’re all on the same page about what we want to achieve in Paris. That goes a long way toward achieving that goal.”

“They’re a special group of guys, and I think we have a real opportunity to do something special when we get there.”