When the Chicago Bulls traded Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey straight up prior to the start of the 2024-25 season, they were clowned. Little did everyone know at the time that the Bulls would provide the exact ecosystem Giddey needed to be in to thrive. Giddey is making his case for an All-Star nod this early in the season, as he led the Bulls to a 24-point comeback against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night to take a 113-111 victory.
Giddey stuffed the stat sheet yet again. In fact, the Bulls star put up another triple-double (his second consecutive), dropping 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists while shooting the ball efficiently from the field, going 10-19 overall (2-4 from beyond the arc). In dropping another triple-double, Giddey pulled off a feat that was last achieved by Michael Jordan in franchise history.
According to the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter), Giddey became the first Bulls player since Jordan during the 1988-89 season to put up at least two consecutive triple-doubles.
During that aforementioned campaign, Jordan put up a bonkers seven-game triple-double streak. Jordan isn't exactly the first player that comes to mind whenever the subject of triple-doubles come up, but there was a time when the Bulls needed him to do everything, and rise to the occasion, like he usually does, he did.
As for Giddey, he profiles as more of a triple-double threat than Jordan ever was. The Bulls star already has 20 triple-doubles for his young career (for reference, Jordan had 28), and there are surely more to come considering how much responsibility he carries for this nascent Bulls team.
Josh Giddey delivers the goods for the Bulls in 24-point comeback vs. 76ers
Giddey is a walking mismatch, and facing a 76ers team that relies so much on their small guards to create on offense was the perfect matchup for him. The Bulls may have been playing from behind all night long, but Giddey stuck to the task and led his team to a 113-111 victory despite going down by 24 points, 65-41, in the second quarter.
The 76ers were so terrified of him towards the end of the game that they sent multiple defenders towards him when he waltzed towards the hoop. As a result, Nikola Vucevic was left wide-open in the corner, and he promptly drilled the go-ahead trey that gave Chicago their sixth win of the season in seven tries.
With Giddey making the leap, this Bulls team may not be as big of a mirage as some may think.
