Josh Giddey rocketed himself into an elite tier with an insane stat that only LeBron James can lay claim to as the Thunder won a trhiller.
Australian young gun Josh Giddey’s blistering start to his NBA career continued as he notched his first career double-double for the Oklahoma City Thunder in their stunning 123-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Giddey’s jaw-dropping passing range was on full display in his team-leading 10 assists.
The spectacular assist figure means he is the third youngest player in NBA history to record 10 assists in a game.
The man who holds the record for the youngest and second youngest is NBA superstar LeBron James.
Giddey also posted 18 points, including two three-pointers.
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The 19-year-old thread the needle on multiple occasions with spectacular assists that had Thunder fans in the Paycom Center out of their seats as he took the fight to the 17-time NBA champions.
It was also Giddey’s second-highest points tally since making his NBA debut this season, with his season-best the 19 points he scored against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Thunder couldn’t have got off to a worse start as the Lakers ran riot in the first quarter and raced out to a 41-19 lead.
However, Giddey played a starring role as the Thunder mounted a monumental 26-point comeback in the second and third quarters as they held on for their first win of the season.
The NBA world continued their love affair with the Aussie.
For the Lakers, a strong showing from star duo Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook ultimately wasn’t enough to earn their third win of the season. LeBron James sat out for the second straight game with an ankle injury.
Davis scored 30 points and Westbrook posted his first triple-double of the season as the Lakers fell to a 2-3 record.
Patty Mills was unable to build on his stellar showing for the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the week as the Eastern Conference heavyweights slumped to a 106-93 defeat to the Miami Heat.
Mills had a horror shooting day, only making one bucket from 15 attempts to add to his two successful attempts from the charity stripe.
While it may have been doom and gloom on the court for Mills, that certainly was not the case off it.
The Boomers captain was announced as one of four nominees for the ACT Australian of the Year award.
Mills was nominated as a result of his spectacular work with Indigenous basketball, including launching the Indigenous Basketball League earlier this year.
The Canberra native also was Australia’s first Indigenous Australian flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics.
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