Thunder rookie Josh Giddey ready for training camp after ankle injury
Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president Sam Presti on Friday said rookie Josh Giddey is ready to participate in training camp after suffering an ankle injury during the Las Vegas Summer League.
Giddey was injured just five minutes into his debut game with the Thunder and would not return to play in Las Vegas. The team opted to be cautious with the injury and did not want to rush him back into action, a decision Presti expounded on during his press conference.
He is fine. It was an ankle sprain. The worst thing in those situations in summer league is when someone gets nicked up like that is you just don’t have enough time to get them back before summer league is over. If you could even get him back, by the end of summer league, the games deteriorate pretty quickly. He is doing good.
The sixth overall pick entered summer league with plenty of hype after a strong season in the National Basketball League. His early injury was certainly a blow to the team and fans alike but the organization knew it wasn’t too concerning that he didn’t play.
The opportunity to have Giddey available for the start of training camp is something the Thunder are excited about. He will take the court with his new teammates and begin the transition with the start of the season just around the corner.
The Thunder, as Presti said, will know a lot more about Giddey soon enough.
We’re going to learn as much in six days of practice as we would in summer league (by) just being around the guys, getting into a routine, building relationships and getting a sense of how things are done. The one advantage I think Josh has, if we’re looking at a silver lining, is he played in a men’s league the whole year. The competition he was playing against is equal or probably better than the summer league, quite frankly.
Oklahoma City hasn’t had a player drafted as high as Giddey since James Harden (No. 3) in 2009 but the Thunder are not putting any pressure on him. They view his prior professional experience as a huge plus and know that he will have enough pressure on himself.
The team may not have seen much of him last month in Las Vegas but that will soon change with the start of the season looming. They will certainly be hoping Giddey can help the team continue its upward trajectory.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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