Josh Giddei admits “weird feeling” to Thunder’s NBA championship

Before the start of the 2024-25 season Oklahoma City Thunder made two key moves that enabled them to jump from a good to a great team. They acquired Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency to fix their woes, and then in a bit of a surprise, they sold josh giddya member of their esteemed young core, do Chicago Bulls in a direct deal for Alex Caruso.

Suffice to say, those moves worked out great for the Thunder. They won the NBA title, and Caruso and Hartenstein were key in that playoff run. Caruso especially defended everyone from Nikola Jokic to Tyrese Haliburton. But you have to feel for Giddy — he struggled with a bad Thunder team to start the 2020s, only to be the first casualty of OKC’s title bid.

Before the Bulls’ 126-113 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Giddy admitted to feeling a little “weird” to see the Thunder pick up the title considering how quickly everything has been developing.

“It was a weird feeling because I was with them a year ago. I’m still very close with all the guys. It was a weird feeling to see. Obviously, there’s no bad blood there. So I was very happy,” Gidi Maliki Andrews told ESPN’s NBA Today.

Josh Giddei on Thunder’s NBA Championship:

“It was a weird feeling because I was with them a year ago. I’m still very close with all the guys. It was a weird feeling to see that. Obviously, there was no bad blood there. So I was very happy.”
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— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 29, 2025

Giddy’s focus will be solely on the Bulls from here on out. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the Thunder anymore. Giddy spent the first three seasons of his career in OKC and developed into an impressive playmaker and scout.

At the very least, Giddy will have every opportunity in the world to blossom into an All-Star with the Bulls, as he is their primary playmaker and main ball handler.

Trade Josh Giddy from Thunder to Bulls: For the best of both sides

Towards the end of Giddei’s Thunder tenure, he was already marginalized on offense. He played worse basketball than he ever had before in the NBA, and it didn’t help that he was going through some off-court issues at the time.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entrusted with the primary ball-handling duties, the Thunder decided to trade Giddy to better fit Caruso. They succeeded in this, if the NBA championship is any indication. But Giddy is now free to continue his stellar trajectory with the Bulls. This is the kind of trade where every party involved seemed to win, although Giddei lost out on the title shot, so there’s that.