'He's the GOAT': Australian legend Andrew Gaze has long been in Josh Giddey's corner

Andrew Gaze has known Josh Giddey since the Thunder guard was in diapers. “Nappies,” as the Aussies say.

Gaze, an Australian basketball legend, played with Giddey’s dad, Warrick Giddey, for the Melbourne Tigers in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). Gaze starred for the Tigers from 1984-2005. He was a seven-time MVP, a 14-time scoring champion and a 15-time All-NBL first-teamer.

Gaze was Australia’s flag bearer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“He’s the GOAT,” Giddey said. “When you think Australian basketball, Andrew Gaze is the guy that comes to mind.”

Gaze sat courtside for the Thunder’s preseason game in Tulsa on Wednesday, and was set to be at Paycom Center on Thursday night for the Thunder’s exhibition against the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers — Josh Giddey’s former club.

Gaze flew in from Phoenix, where the 36ers upset the Suns on Sunday.

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The 6-foot-7 former sharpshooter with white hair and a keen sense of humor is on the U.S. trip as both a supporter of Australian basketball and as an ambassador of Australian Made products.

Gaze sat for an interview with The Oklahoman on Tuesday in the opulent lobby of the First National Center in downtown Oklahoma City. Leaning forward in his chair, Gaze told stories of a young Josh Giddey.

“He was a cheeky, smartass kid," said Gaze, without missing a beat. “A good kid, though.”

Gaze’s son, Mason, and Giddey were close friends.

“He and Mason used to go to NBL games and they'd be trying to figure out ways to sneak into the corporate boxes so they could get a drink, get a coke or something,” Gaze said. “That type of stuff. He was always very respectful and polite, but a smartass.”

Giddey, still four days shy of 20, is entering his second season with the Thunder after being the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The tall guard with curly brown locks is already one of the best passers in the NBA, and he’s a cornerstone of the Thunder’s rebuild.

That Gaze is in Oklahoma City to watch Giddey lead an NBA team against an NBL team is, well, “ridiculous, really,” Gaze said.

It’s one of those full-circle moments for Giddey.

“I used to watch the NBL-NBA games a lot when I was a kid,” Giddey said. “Being in this game now, it’s really exciting.”

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Josh Giddey learned from Andrew Gaze

Both Warrick Giddey and Andrew Gaze have their numbers hanging in the Melbourne rafters. Not a bad pair of players to learn from. Warrick and Gaze coached Josh throughout his junior career, from when Josh was about eight until he turned 16.

“I think we all knew that the destination was going to be the NBA,” said Gaze, who played a combined 26 NBA games with Washington (1993-94) and San Antonio (1998-99).

“Clearly he has some assets that you'd recognize,” Gaze continued. “But the speed at which it all happened is the thing that sticks out. From the time he was say 11 to the time he was 15, he wasn't a prodigy. He wasn't one of these kids that was sticking out.”

Giddey, as a young player in Australia, orchestrated his team’s offense instead of seeking the spotlight, just as he did in his first season with the Thunder. Josh’s knack as a pass-first facilitator, which kept him under the radar, is a Giddey family trait.

“I made a living off his dad,” Gaze said. “Because his dad was this elite passer that didn't wanna shoot, and wanted to pass me the ball.”

Giddey also credited Gaze.

“The offense he used to run,” Giddey said, “he put me in spots that gave me the ability to throw those types of passes and work on that stuff.”

No-look dimes. Cross-court slingshots. Assists off inbounds plays. Giddey has each of those passes and more in his repertoire, and he delivers them with uncanny accuracy.

Giddey led all rookies with 6.4 assists last season to supplement his 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He had a career-high 14 assists in a January game against the Mavericks, when he became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double.

“There is a skill set for passing that you need,” Gaze said. “You've gotta be able to get it there, but it's one thing to have the skill set to do it, and it's another thing to be able to see it. His ability to play ahead of the game, his ability to understand body language, reading the defense when you're a passer ...

“All those things that we will claim that we taught him, it's a load of s---,” Gaze said with a big laugh.

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Australia influenced Josh Giddey's game

In between his time at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, and getting drafted by the Thunder, Giddey played one season for the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers.

Giddey, who grew up in Melbourne, shared fond memories of his year in Adelaide, though the players and coaching staff has changed quite a bit since then.

Americans Craig Randall, Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland scored 35, 32 and 22 points in Adelaide’s win at Phoenix. Cleveland is a former OKC Blue player.

“You're always worried, s---, are they gonna be on the plane home? Someone might pick them up,” Gaze said.

Gaze, who coached the NBL’s Sydney Kings, has seen the NBL ebb and flow, from its halcyon days in the 1990s, to a rough patch in the 2000s to where it is now.

Some of the NBA’s top prospects, including Thunder rookie Ousmane Dieng, have come from the NBL. Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers, a team the Thunder hosted in the 2019 preseason.

Giddey’s time in Adelaide helped prepare him for the NBA, and Gaze believes Giddey landed in a perfect spot with the rebuilding Thunder.

“He was able to make rookie mistakes, which even the best of them do, without having the same level of scrutiny because of the circumstance he was in,” Gaze said. “You could see the evolution. Unfortunately it was cut short because some of the injuries that he had, but he started strongly and got better.”

What makes Gaze most proud is Giddey’s “endorsement and gratitude,” for the unselfish style of play Giddey played as a youngster in Australia, which can still be seen in Giddey’s game today.

It’s a recognition, more or less, of where Giddey came from. But it doesn’t fully explain where he is now.

“We taught him the principles about circumstances. Taught him concepts. Gave him real complex offensive structures at a very early age,” Gaze said. “And I think all that helps, but we've done it for hundreds and hundreds of kids, and they don't all end up Josh Giddeys.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Australian legend Andrew Gaze has long been in Josh Giddey's corner