Potential lottery pick out of Australia Josh Giddey reportedly enters draft

A 6’8″ lead ball handler with experience overseas is the kind of player that will turn a few heads in the draft these days.

Enter Josh Giddey out of Australia, who has an agent and will put his name in the 2021 NBA Draft, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He is playing this season in Australia for the Adelaide 36ers and is projected as a mid-teens, maybe late lottery pick in the upcoming draft.

Giddey averages 11.1 points, 7.4 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game this season in the NBL.

Here is the statement Giddy gave Wojnarowski:

“I know that playing in the NBL has more than prepared me for the next level, so I’m ready to take that jump and enter the 2021 NBA Draft,” Giddey told ESPN in a statement. “The 36ers have done a great job developing me, and have put a lot of work into my game over the entire time I’ve been here. My teammates and the coaching staff here in Adelaide have helped my game reach a new level, and that’s only given me more confidence that this is the right decision for me.”

While there is a clear top five in this draft — Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga — after that it is much more wide open. Because teams did not get to do much in-person scouting of college or international players, there are more varied opinions than normal, and individual workouts and the NBA Draft Combine could carry more weight than in normal years.

The NBA Draft is set for July 29.