Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins says Australian young gun Josh Giddey has the “capability of being a superstar” after a bright start to his career.
Through the first quarter of the 2021-22 NBA season, Giddey’s rise has taken the NBA world by storm.
The 19-year-old Australian was rewarded for his fast start to life as an NBA player yesterday after being crowned NBA’s Western Conference Rookie of the Month for October and November.
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Giddey has averaged 10.4 points to go with a team-leading 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game through the first 20 games of the season.
Giddey’s impressive start hasn’t gone unnoticed by former Thunder centre Perkins, who believes the Australian has the potential to not just become an NBA All-Star, but a genuine superstar of the league.
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“Absolutely [he can be superstar],” Perkins said on ESPN’s The Jump. “He’s only going to go up.”
“From everything I’ve heard, from the Oklahoma City organisation – they say he’s a hard worker and he already has everything and more, to not only be an [NBA] All-Star but a superstar.”
Perkins, who also won an NBA championship with Boston in 2008, claims Giddey can the superstar to lead Oklahoma’s next era of basketball.
The organisation was once home to three former NBA MVPs – Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden – who took the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012.
“To take the Oklahoma City Thunder to where they used to be when they had Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden,” Perkins said.
“He has that capability of being a superstar.
“I don’t like throwing that word (superstar) out a lot, but what he’s been doing on a consistent basis night in and night out – he has superstar written all over.
“The only way he’s not a superstar is if he gets in his own way.”