{"id":263878,"date":"2025-11-05T08:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T08:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/263878\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T08:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T08:18:12","slug":"josh-giddey-matches-michael-jordans-record-at-chicago-bulls-dyson-daniels-also-in-hot-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/263878\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Giddey matches Michael Jordan\u2019s record at Chicago Bulls, Dyson Daniels also in hot form"},"content":{"rendered":"

Giddey\u2019s improved three-point shooting and his stronger frame have stood out but, most of all, his Bulls are winning matches, which inturn is shining light on his individual form.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re both great young men who represent Australia in a way that I\u2019m proud of,\u201d Longley said at the launch of Amazon Prime\u2019s NBA coverage in October. Amazon Prime will broadcast 67 games a season as part of a new 11-year global deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey play the right way. They play for their teammates, they play defence, they\u2019re not selfish. They play hard and hit hard. I think they\u2019re well-built for the challenge, both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there was speculation questioning if the Australian pair would be able to handle the spotlight attached to their lucrative contracts, Longley \u2013 who won three NBA titles with Jordan\u2019s Bulls<\/a> \u2013 said that pressure wouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDo you think that salary makes a big difference to how much pressure you feel on the court?\u201d Longley asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I never felt that. I feel like pressure comes from not wanting to let your teammates down, trying to win games and trying to get to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019m naive, but I feel like the pay packet happens, and then you shut the door on that and go about trying to be a good basketballer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth those guys are in teams that are trying to establish themselves and get into a championship window, so they\u2019ll be feeling fully engaged in that. I\u2019d like to hope that making a bit more money doesn\u2019t change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proctor, Furphy ready for more<\/p>\n

This season could also see several Australian recruits rise into regular minutes, Cleveland rookie Tyrese Proctor and Indiana\u2019s Johnny Furphy among them after impressing during preseason.<\/p>\n

They are among the 14 Australians on NBA rosters.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland<\/p>\n

Cleveland rookie Tyrese Proctor fires off a three-point shot.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited for Tyrese as he went off the radar for a little while there, but he\u2019s obviously found his game again,\u201d Longley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have seen his value, and he\u2019s with a franchise who knows how to win. It\u2019s a great opportunity, and he seems the kind of young man who will seize it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furphy threw down powerful dunks in preseason, and could move up the Paces\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n

\"Indiana<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers\u2019 Johnny Furphy dunks on Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s Malevy Leons.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Furphy is a Melbourne-raised player who bloomed late, so isn\u2019t well-known at local level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all candour, I haven\u2019t seen that much of him,\u201d Longley admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone showed me one of his dunks. I did not know he had that in his passage. But I know the coaches who have been around him loved him, loved that he works hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cBounce is a weapon. He\u2019d look great in green and gold wouldn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

Australian basketball greats Lauren Jackson and Luc Longley at the launch of Amazon Prime\u2019s NBA and WNBA coverage.Credit: Scott Ehler<\/p>\n

Ben Simmons and Patty Mills remain free agents. Although, there is no indication either will play this season, Longley hasn\u2019t given up hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be surprised if Ben doesn\u2019t get another look,\u201d Longley said. \u201cMaybe\u2019s he\u2019s waiting for the right opportunity, for a team in the championship window, but I don\u2019t have any intimate knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cSame with Patty. If I was him, I\u2019d be waiting until mid-season to see who needs someone who can shoot with veteran experience and was making a title run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big futures for Toohey, Rocco and the Boomers<\/p>\n

Longley knows rookie Alex Toohey well from their time together at the Sydney Kings<\/a>. But Toohey is now at Golden State, learning from NBA legends Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken with Alex and he\u2019s having a ball,\u201d Longley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolden State has a deep, deep culture, and my mate Steve [Kerr] as coach. He\u2019s absolutely loving it. It\u2019s exciting for a young man to be immersed in that.<\/p>\n

\u201cRocco Zikarsky<\/a> has the other end of that, he\u2019s in a franchise trying to find its first window of deep competitiveness, and he\u2019s got some great stars around him. I love the landing spots for both those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

The likes of Furphy and Daniels bring an athleticism to the Boomers that the team has rarely had before, although Longley feigned insult at suggestions the likes of Andrew Gaze or himself weren\u2019t athletic players.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota<\/p>\n

Minnesota centre Rocco Zikarsky drives against Philadelphia\u2019s Andre Drummond during NBA preseason games.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Giddey, Daniels and the up-and-comers could form a strong core for the 2027 FIBA World Cup and, hopefully, Los Angeles 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Boomers have a lot of weapons at their disposal,\u201d Longley said. \u201cThis generation is a little similar to the generation that went from Andrew Gaze to myself. Their ages are fairly similar, and they are playing in the NBA at the same time together.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think [Boomers coach] Adam Caporn has a lot of choices to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

With AP, AAP<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giddey\u2019s improved three-point shooting and his stronger frame have stood out but, most of all, his Bulls are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-263878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}