Nearly two and a half years had passed since Harry Giles last appeared in an NBA game entering the 2023-24 season. The nation's number-one high school player in the Class of 2016, Giles was once considered a future NBA star, ranked ahead of players like Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, De'Aaron Fox and Lonzo Ball.

“A lot of people, including Theo Pinson, his former teammate, say he’s probably the best high school basketball player they'd ever seen, one of the Top 10 in history,” Spencer Dinwiddie said Thursday.

The 6-foot-11 power forward/center has seen his career sidetracked by knee injuries. After tearing both of his ACLs in high school, Giles played less than one full season at Duke before declaring for the NBA draft. The Kings selected him with the 20th pick in 2017, but he failed to gain any traction in Sacramento. After stints with the Trail Blazers and Clippers that ended with a season-ending knee injury in the G-League in 2021, it was unclear if Giles would ever play in the NBA again.

Attempting to resurrect his career, Giles hosted a series of workouts this offseason. Several teams attended, but the Brooklyn Nets were at the front of the line, eventually offering him a non-guaranteed contract.

Giles is making the most of the opportunity. After a productive debut Monday against the Lakers, he received a surprise start Thursday with Nic Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe injured. Giles was among Brooklyn's most impressive players in a win over Maccabi Ra'anana, posting 16 points and 10 rebounds (six offensive) on 8-of-10 shooting.

“This ain't my first rodeo,” he said postgame. “I'm just getting back in the swing of things. Every game I plan to get better. It's all about confidence. Just building confidence each game. These are my first couple of games in two years. So for me, it's just working through that.”

“I feel great. I've been working my body out hard in the summertime and into the preseason. So I'm excited to keep going and keep building.”

Harry Giles can make big impact for Nets

Nets, Harry Giles

Giles has a unique opportunity in Brooklyn given the team's lack of center depth behind Nic Claxton. Day'Ron Sharpe failed to crack the rotation last season despite a glaring rebounding deficiency. Darius Bazley and Trendon Watford, who are in competition with Giles for one of the team's final two roster spots, were brought in as versatile small-ball options.

Giles appears to have a firm lead in the three-way race, with head coach Jacque Vaughn praising his defense and rebounding following Thursday's start.

“I said before the game that Harry, Darius, and Trendon were all gonna get quality minutes to showcase and see how they fit into our different units out on the floor,” Vaughn said. “I thought Harry was extremely aggressive, and that started with his rebounding on both ends of the floor. He was his physical. I think he was in the right spots defensively giving us a presence at the rim.”

A rebounding boost in the second unit would go a long way for a Nets team that ranked 28th on the defensive glass last season. Giles entered camp aware of the void he could fill.

“I know I always go out there and rebound, talk on defense,” Giles said earlier this week. “So that’s what I’m going to hang my hat on, is going out there and being a defensive big, anchor my team every night, and rebound the ball.”

While the Nets have been impressed with Giles' defense and rebounding, his offensive performance may put him over the top in the battle for a roster spot, and possibly even rotation minutes. He showed off his versatility Thursday, attacking the offensive glass, finishing a variety of floaters near the rim, and even draining a fadeaway late in the shot clock.

Harry Giles has a leg up on Bazley and Watford in terms of size and athleticism. Vaughn is also high on the 25-year-old's defensive IQ, alluding to his high-level positioning and communication. The North Carolina native may have an outside chance to beat out Sharpe for backup five minutes after the 21-year-old struggled to defend in space and finish last season.

From an off-court standpoint, Vaughn is hopeful Giles' story can send a message to the rest of the team.

“I think there’s overall an appreciation that in a situation like Harry’s, you’re still hooping and you get to play again,” the coach said. “Hopefully it sends a message to our other guys of, ‘Don’t take this thing for granted.’ He can take Dariq (Whitehead) to the side as a fellow Duke athlete and (tell him) what it’s like to fight through injury and get on the other side and appreciate what you do for a living and give everything you have every single day. There’s something to that also.”

Giles has a ways to go in his long journey toward becoming a productive NBA player. However, he's in the right place at the right time, making an impact on a team searching for a backup to Nic Claxton, who said he feels there's a place for Giles in Brooklyn this season.

“It’s pretty motivating knowing his story, knowing where he’s coming from,” Claxton said. “Seeing a guy like Harry sticking around and still grinding. He’s been physical and obviously, he knows how to play. He’s been in the league, been around the league, for a while. I think we could definitely use him this year.”