{"id":622935,"date":"2026-04-22T06:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/622935\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T06:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:01:53","slug":"boomers-star-flattered-by-michael-jordan-comparisons-focused-on-team-success-after-chicago-bulls-party-with-billy-donovan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/622935\/","title":{"rendered":"Boomers star flattered by Michael Jordan comparisons, focused on team success after Chicago Bulls party with Billy Donovan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jon<\/p>\n

April 22, 2026 \u2014 1:35pm<\/p>\n

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Australian Boomers star Josh Giddey is flattered when his name is linked to Michael Jordan, the greatest basketballer<\/a> to have graced the hardwood.<\/p>\n

And there were several times in the NBA season just gone that the Chicago Bulls playmaker was mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, who not only won six championships with the Bulls but carried the sport into a new, glittering world.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Giddey wants team success with the Chicago Bulls.Justin McManus<\/p>\n

Giddey, 23, this year passed Jordan<\/a> on the Bulls\u2019 all-time triple-double list with a franchise record 29, and became the first Bulls player since Jordan in 1989 to record back-to-back triple-doubles.<\/p>\n

But, on a warm Wednesday morning in Melbourne when he learnt the rebuilding Bulls had parted ways with coach Billy Donovan after six seasons, Giddey\u2019s true reason for playing the sport was clear.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Matthew<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, he [Jordan] is obviously the pinnacle of the sport. He is the greatest to ever do it. And any time your name is mentioned with someone [like Jordan], that is pretty special,\u201d said Giddey, who was promoting Nine\u2019s new free-to-air broadcast deal with the NBL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nine, the owner of this masthead, will show two marquee NBL games each week under a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, as I said, the individual stuff is great, but you get to a point that I\u2019m at, probably in my career, where it doesn\u2019t mean as much as it once did early on,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning is the pinnacle. And that\u2019s what I want to get to. [But] yeah, anytime your name is mentioned with a guy like that, it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n

It certainly wasn\u2019t a special season for the Bulls, who shredded their roster at the trade deadline in February, sacked their president of basketball operations and general manager, and have now parted with their respected coach after failing to make the play-offs.<\/p>\n

Giddey, with a four-year, $150 million contract<\/a>, understands the \u201cbusiness\u201d, but five years into his NBA career, he craves team success.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Jordan owned the Chicago Bulls\u2019 record for most triple-doubles \u2013 before Josh Giddey. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sucks anytime I come back here, and I\u2019m working out, and I\u2019m watching the play-offs up on the big screen,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

That attitude is reflected in the pass-first point guard having begun arduous workouts with veteran high-performance trainer Nik Popovic just two days after returning home. Popovic spent many years in Brian Goorjian-led programs, and now works year round with Giddey.<\/p>\n

That strong work was on show as Giddey posted career-high averages in points (17.0), rebounds (8.3), and assists (9.1) per game in 54 games, while averaging a strong 36.4 per cent (career 33.7) from three-point range.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think early on in the year, we looked really good. And I thought the team that we had was a play-off calibre team, and we could have made some noise there. And then, obviously, at the trade deadline, they kind of changed some things. We had eight new players, eight guys left. It was a massive change,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us kind of had a mini-camp in the middle of the year trying to integrate all these new players into the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said he wanted the contracted Donovan to stay, but, as Giddey pointed out, \u201cBilly made his own decision\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved him. I, obviously, wish he could have been there and stayed. I\u2019ve had nothing but good things to say about Billy,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

Donovan turned the Bulls over to Giddey after trading for him from the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in June 2024, understanding his all-court passing skills, honed as a junior at the Melbourne Tigers running the club\u2019s famous shuffle offence, were exceptional.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Alanna<\/a><\/p>\n

Giddey stunned locals last year when he filled in for a friend<\/a> and played a surprise game at the Frankston Basketball Stadium. It remains to be seen whether that happens again, but he is keen to lure as many Boomers to Courtside in Port Melbourne, a complex he part owns, soon for an unofficial mini-camp ahead of next year\u2019s World Cup in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Under new coach Adam Caporn, an assistant with the Washington Wizards, the Boomers are keen to banish memories of a disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics when they failed to reach the medal rounds.<\/p>\n

Giddey said he did not know if veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills, 37, or Joe Ingles, 38, were still available for selection. Ingles is involved a play-off run with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but has had strong discussions about a return to the NBL with Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix, league sources, who did not wish to speak publicly, told this masthead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a kind of good crop of [youngsters] \u2026 they [Mills and Ingles] have done so much for the country and for the Boomers. So the next crop of guys coming through, to be able to carry that torch, and what they have done \u2026 we\u2019ll see, I guess, next year,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

\"AussieAussie stars: While Dyson Daniels and his Atlanta Hawks are in the NBA play-offs, Giddey is working towards a 2026-27 Bulls rebuild.AP<\/p>\n

Mills, after a year off, is playing with La Laguna Tenerife in Spain\u2019s Liga ACB and the Basketball Champions League.<\/p>\n

Giddey said five-time NBL most valuable player Bryce Cotton, now an Australian citizen, would be \u201cwelcomed with open arms\u201d if he chose to play for Australia.<\/p>\n

Related\"Top<\/a><\/p>\n

He also said the door was still open for a Ben Simmons return. Simmons, 29, a three-time NBA All-Star and former rookie of the year, has had back injuries and mental health issues, did not win an NBA contract<\/a> last season.<\/p>\n

He has since been having fun being a team owner and controlling operator of the South Florida Sails in the Sport Fishing Championship, a professional offshore saltwater fishing league.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis body is, obviously, not as it once was. But, yeah, from what I understand, he wants to play. I think it\u2019s just being healthy enough,\u201d Giddey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s, obviously, got a big hobby outside of basketball. He loves doing it. Yeah, I mean, I\u2019m sure he\u2019s gonna come back and play at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBL sources, wishing to remain anonymous, said they would welcome Simmons, but there had not been any recent contact between the parties.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 22, 2026 \u2014 1:35pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-622935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622935","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=622935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}