As the Oklahoma City Thunder ascend past the current group of teams and into a historic company with some of the greatest teams ever, Josh Giddey feels no sense of envy or bitterness. Instead of staring out of his window in envy like Squidward, he's cheering on his former squad after he spent his first three seasons there.
The Thunder welcomed back Giddey with a 145-117 win over the Chicago Bulls. It was the first time the 22-year-old was in OKC since he was traded in the past offseason after refusing to come off the bench. His final season with them was filled with disappointment and awkwardness as he was forced into being the fourth option.
Despite not getting a second contract with the Thunder, Giddey remains highly of them. After all, while he's no longer on a title contender, he gets to be the primary ball-handler of a fun postseason squad and is due for a handsome extension this upcoming offseason.
“I don’t ever sit here watching these guys hoping they lose or hoping they’re not the best team in the league. I’m genuinely happy for them. I built real relationships with a lot of the guys here," Giddey said. "The success they're having I love to see it. When I was here with them my rookie year, we were towards the bottom of the league. My third year, we were the first seed."
Even though Giddey didn't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, his time on the Thunder helped accelerate the franchise from a rebuilding squad to a title favorite. But such is the nature of the NBA, it's a business at the end of the day and everybody seeks to maximize their career earnings first and foremost.
"I'm very grateful to be a part of building something here. They're still the best team in the league now. They've got a lot of great pieces in this team and the building," Giddey said. "They're a very well-ran the organization. Top to bottom, class organization."
It didn't work out on the Thunder as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams surpassed him on the totem pole, but that doesn't mean his three-year tenure was a failure. Giddey clearly sees it like that as he continues to be a triple-double machine for Chicago.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Josh Giddey has no ill will against Thunder, happy to see them thrive
