'I had to decide': 'Difficult' footy call that changed Josh Giddey's life
Josh Giddey has opened up on his rise to the NBA and the difficult decision he made in his teens to drop footy and focus on a basketball career.
In an interview which will air on Nine's Wide World of Sports on Sunday, Giddey invites US sports correspondent Brad Banks into his home in Chicago.
In the interview, they touch on his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Chicago Bulls, his buzzer-beater over LeBron James and the significance of representing Australia.
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He also opens up on growing up in Melbourne, where - just like many sporty Victorian kids - he played Aussie rules and cricket.
Josh Giddey has opened up on his rise to the NBA in a tell-all interview with Wide World of Sports. Getty
Giddey said the decision not to play footy with his best mates was far from easy.
"I loved it - I played it like every kid. I played a bunch of sports - cricket, footy, basketball," he explained.
"Once I got to about 15 or 16 and I got the scholarship offer to the AIS, I had to decide - basketball or football. That was when I decided which way to go.
"It wasn't easy at the time. I love footy and I played with all my mates, but once I chose to go up there, I had to put footy aside."
Aussie basketball star Josh Giddey has opened up on his rise to the NBA in a tell-all interview with Wide World of Sports. Nine
While time would prove it was the correct decision, only four years earlier footy was looming as his preferred choice.
While attending St Kevins College, he even went so far as to take a year off basketball while he focussed on playing APS (Associated Public Schools of Victoria) footy. APS is a renowned pathway for future AFL stars.
But once he made the decision to stick to basketball, Giddey said his footy experience still came in handy.
Watch the full exclusive interview this Sunday on Wide World of Sports on Channel 9 and 9Now
"Anticipating where the ball is going to go. Some guys have that sense ... that feel for the game where they can read where the ball is going to bounce off the rim," he explained.
"I've always had that instinct for the ball, and I think footy helped a lot with that.
"Reading it off packs and where it's going to bounce. Because it's an oval-shaped ball, it bounces in all different directions. That's definitely helped me rebounding."
Wide World of Sports airs at 10am in Sydney and Brisbane, and midday AEST in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
