Josh Giddey suffers hamstring injury in huge Chicago blow as Aussie's All-Star hopes hang in the balance
Updated . First published at
Josh Giddey has suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter of Chicago's clash with Minnesota on Tuesday.
After dribbling the ball up the court and passing it off, the Australian guard reached for his hamstring, clearly indicating something was wrong despite no obvious moment that would have caused the injury.
He then limped from the court as a timeout was called, chatting with Bulls coach Billy Donovan on the way.
READ MORE: Kyrgios, Sabalenka fire back at 'negative' reaction
READ MORE: Aussie hopeful 'devastated' as citizenship blow hits Olympic dream
READ MORE: Coach details major Marnus flaw as form slump returns
Clearly in discomfort, he made his way to the locker room and was ruled out of the remainder of the game.
Josh Giddey holds his injured hamstring. Twitter
The severity of the injury is unknown at this stage.
The Bulls had won five of their last six games coming into Tuesday's game.
Giddey's chances of becoming an NBA All-Star earlier received a boost after the first round of fan voting was revealed by the league.
The Australian finds himself ranked 14th in the Eastern Conference, with 115,000 votes.
While that number ultimately won't decide whether he is made an All-Star reserve, it shows he will certainly be right in the mix when final rosters are determined.
The 2026 game will feature three teams of eight playing a round robin format - two US teams and one team of international players named the World Team.
However, the league will still name 10 All-Star starters through a combination of fan, media and player voting, before the coaches then determine the 14 reserves, seven in each conference.
If anywhere, Giddey is likely to feature as a reserve in the East.
Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls. NBAE via Getty Images
The 23-year-old has averaged 19.5 points, 9.2 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game so far this season, after signing a five-year $149m deal with the Bulls in the summer.
International players dominate the NBA, with Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Deni Avdija, Alperen Sengun and OG Anunoby all currently ahead of Giddey in voting.
The next update on fan voting is expected in early January, with the Aussie having plenty of time to boost his fan votes.
Though it's unlikely he is named a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, he will be well and truly in the mix as a reserve.
If selected, he will be Australia's first NBA All-Star since Ben Simmons made the team in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Aussie players Dyson Daniels (L) and Josh Giddey (R) embrace after a game. NBAE via Getty Images
Giddey's strong season to date sees him out-polling the likes of Paolo Banchero, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Mikal Bridges in the fan vote.
Fan voting makes up 50 per cent of the total vote pool, with the other 50 per cent split between media and player voting.
If the requirement for 16 American players and eight internationals is not met, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will add in additional players of his choosing.
At this stage, it looks more likely that they will be short on Americans, not internationals.
Antetokounmpo leads all voters in the East, with Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell rounding out the top five.
In the West, Doncic sits atop, with Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama and Steph Curry in the top five.
LeBron James sits ninth in the West voting, despite missing most of the season to this point with injury.
