THE BRIGHTEST Aussie basketball talent in the world, Joshua Giddey delivered a standout season with the Chicago Bulls, playing at an All-Star level in the back half of the season to fully cement himself as a player to watch in the NBA.

After coming through the NBL’s Next Stars program (the first Aussie to do so), Giddey was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 NBA Draft, and was a solid contributor on a stacked roster that was full of young talent.

Although the Thunder were winning games, Giddey himself was struggling to cement himself in the starting lineup, and was subsequently traded to the Bulls for Alex Caruso, in a move that was surely set to give him more responsibility.

Aussie basketball fans knew just how capable Giddey was of developing into a star, having shown glimpses at international level. The point guard was given the keys to the kingdom during his first Olympics campaign as a Boomer, and looks set to be the face of the team moving forward, although he had not quite proven it at NBA level.

He did have one impressive feat to his name during his tenure with the Thunder, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple double at 19 years, 84 days old, with his all around contributions a big part of his game.

Although he had a slow start to his time in Chicago, the Aussie worked his way into the team nicely, and by December, he had recorded his first triple double with the team. Meanwhile, Chicago had lost the core of DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine, so Giddey (along with Coby White) was set to be one of the central figures for the team.

However, since the calendar ticked over to 2025, he has been a completely different player, looking much more dominant and leading the Bulls’ turnaround to a play-in spot, although they would ultimately lose in the elimination clash.

It was the All-Star break that proved the defining period for the Aussie, with Giddey becoming one of the form players of the NBA and firming himself as a player that can lead a team into the postseason, and likely forcing Chicago to pay him a significant amount of money on a contract extension.

The switch in mindset is evident when seeing how he performs on the court now, with the guard constantly looking to attack and looking much more confident in his own scoring ability, which was one of the knocks on his game previously.

Another area that was previously viewed as a weakness was his defence, but the Australian gun has been working on that facet of the game too, even taking on the matchup of Luka Doncic when the two international players faced off, and holding his own against one of the best talents in the world.

Since the All-Star break, Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game across 19 appearances, proving a consistent 20-plus point scorer for the Bulls and becoming the central point on the offensive end.

His most memorable moment came in the two-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers, where he produced one of the best moments of the NBA season. With his side trailing by one point with five seconds on the clock, Giddey dribbled the ball up and heaved a prayer from beyond the halfcourt line, and it remarkably found the bottom of the net as time expired, sending the city of Chicago into pandemonium.

It was an incredible leap from Giddey, who is now certainly one of the most exciting point guards in the NBA, and if he can continue this sort of trajectory, an All-Star appearance is certainly imminent for the 22-year-old.