The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey became just the second NBA player in 50 years to record a scoreless double-double.
Giddey had zero points, ten assists, and ten rebounds in the Thunder’s 117-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday.
Thunder rookie Josh Giddey notched his 6th career double-double last night against the Pelicans.
He also scored zero points.
Giddey is the 2nd player in NBA history to score 0 points in a double-double, joining Norm Van Lier in 1971. pic.twitter.com/CqT0QaTeLN
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 27, 2021
The only other player to post a scoreless double-double was Norman Van Lier when he dished out 13 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cincinnati Royals in a 146-112 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971.
Lier was a three-time NBA All-Star and played for the Royals, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks during his ten years in the league.
Giddey, 19, was 0-8 from the field and 0-2 from behind the arc, but he found other ways to contribute to the team’s victory.
“Through the ups and downs of an 82-game, competitive experience, you’ve gotta be able to find some consistency and tap into the things that you can rely on every night, and you can control every night, and I thought he controlled what he can control,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “At some point, you just gotta move past it and lose yourself in the game, and I thought his last stretch when he went in there, he did a nice job to help us close that out.”
Giddey is averaging 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in his first year in the league out of Australia.
Prior to his historic performance against the Pelicans, Giddey was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Month for October/November.
Giddey averaged 10.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and one steal in the first 20 games of the season.
Josh does this in real life 🏆
Your OCT/NOV Western Conference Rookie of the Month! pic.twitter.com/gOJybx8oRK
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 27, 2021
“It was cool. The individual awards are good but it has always been about the team for me. I was happy to get the applause from people but once it’s over, it’s over and you can just get back to focusing on the team,” said Giddey upon receiving the honor, per USA Today.
Giddey joined LaMelo Ball and LeBron James as the only teenagers in NBA history to record 100 assists and 100 rebounds in their first 20 games, per Sporting News.