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Josh Giddey is a stellar hooper who has been an absolute baller this season. In this post, though, we're looking at Josh Giddey's father Warrick Giddey.
This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise for fans who have been keeping an eye on the 19-year old before he got to the NBA. The Australian wonderkid was already showing massive potential in his homeland with the Adelaide 36ers. The then-18-year old didn't look out of his depth at all playing against seasoned veterans in the physical NBL playstyle; in his only season in the Australian league, Giddey averaged 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.5 assists.
But did you know that Josh Giddey is actually a second-generation talent? Not only that, his whole family is composed of ballers. His mother, Kim, played professionally for the Melbourne Tigers of the WNBL, while his sister, Hannah, currently plays college ball for the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
However, in this piece, we'll be talking about Josh Giddey's father Warrick Giddey. We'll be taking a look into his amateur and professional career, his post-basketball ventures, as well as other interesting trivia.
Let's get into it.
Josh Giddey's Father Warren Giddey
The man standing alongside Josh Giddey as he was getting drafted 6th overall used to be quite a baller himself. Warrick Giddey was a 15-year veteran of the National Basketball League in Australia.
Warrick was born in the village of Coledale, New South Wales. He started playing basketball while he was a junior in the Illawarra high school basketball program. He played as a forward, a position he retained throughout his entire career.
For his efforts, Wazza received a scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Unfortunately, his college numbers are not available online. What we can tell you is that he must have been a solid piece for the program's state league team, as he would make his NBL debut soon thereafter. He would join and play for the Illawarra Hawks at just 19 years of age after a one-and-done collegiate career.
His NBL career started in the 1886-87 season, wherein he averaged 3.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He scored 3 points in his first game. It was also about this time that he played for the Australian Boomers under-21 team.
Warrick's tenure with the Hawks was short-lived, however; he only played 2 seasons for his hometown team before moving to Melbourne and playing for the Tigers. Now named the Melbourne United, the Tigers are one of the NBL's all-time great franchises.
In his first season with the Tigers, Warrick's minutes and stats saw a significant increase. From just 13 minutes a game in Illawarra, his playing time jumped all the way to 29 minutes in Melbourne. Meanwhile, his counting stats went up from 3.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1 assist to 6.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Warrick's debut season also saw his team gain a Playoffs berth for the first time in franchise history; along with Giddey's solid performances, they were largely helped by the arrival of Australian basketball great Andrew Gaze, who averaged 36 points that season. The 17-10 Tigers were eliminated in the first round by the Sydney Kings.
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This season was the start of his best three-game season stretches in terms of scoring, as he averaged 6.3 points to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists. His team also made the postseason for the entire stretch.
In the middle of this, Giddey was actually part of one of the most memorable matches in NBL history. Going up against his old team the Hawks, Warrick and his Tigers managed to outscore the competition in a remarkable 186-158 win. Giddey contributed 11 points in what would be the highest-scoring game in NBL history.
His first taste of silverware, however, wouldn't come until his 5th year in Melbourne, in the 1992-93 season. The then-25-year old helped the Tigers to a 16-10 record and an NBL Championship berth. Fresh off a Grand Finals loss the previous season against rivals South East Melbourne Magic, Giddey and star player Andrew Gaze would not let it slip this time. The Tigers would go on to wingthe championship in three games against the Perth Wildcats.
Melbourne went on win the Championship for the second time in 1997 at the back of a historic 16 consecutive games. Once again, the Tigers were defeated in the previous year by the Magic after leading by a game; they got the Magic back right away to claim their second chip in 5 years.
This would be the start of the team's decline, with numerous Playoff heartbreaks for Giddey before the 2000-01 season. Here, he would only play four games and score no points due to injury.
He'd come back for one last ride in the 2001-02 season, wherein they'd finish 6th in the standings. Giddey would officially retire after a semifinal loss against West Sydney Razorbacks.
Looking back, Giddey was a great defensive anchor for his team, while averaging 3.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists for the Tigers. For his career, he similarly averaged 3.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, winning two NBL Championships in the process.
The forward's number 6 now hangs on the John Cain Arena, now retired by the Melbourne Tigers.
What's he up to now? He currently runs Melbourne United Community and School programs. He was also an assistant coach for United.
Warrick Giddey is a great and a household name in NBL basketball and should not be simply be known as “Josh Giddey's dad”. Nevertheless, Josh is poised to make quite a name for himself as well, in a much bigger stage. Props to Warrick for mentoring a potential all-NBA player.
