Josh Giddey grabbed the ball, squared himself up to the backboard and darted towards the rim. The miniature ball squeezed completely in his right palm, he reared back, leapt into the air and slammed it home through his backyard hoop. Pajama pants ruffling, the pre-teen Giddey pounded his chest in celebration in front of the family trampoline. He shouted with glory at his achievement.
“I grew up from a young age with a ball in my hands,” a now-18-year-old Giddey said while reflecting on childhood moments when he fell in love with the game, one of which he posted on his Twitter account this summer.