“I haven’t played a real NBA game since early February so it has given me a lot of time to work on things,” Giddey said.
“Having Chip now at the Thunder got me really excited – he’s one of the best in the business and working with him every day will be a massive benefit for me.”
Basketball Australia has signed a deal with the game to have a Boomers jersey available for people’s virtual players to wear in the MyPlayer version of the game.
Loading
Many NBA players urge the NBA 2K programmers to boost their player rating but Giddey said he was staying humble after jumping from 72 [99 is the highest rating] last year to 82 in this year’s game, making him the second-highest Australian behind Ben Simmons on 83.
But he agreed with those who were angry Boomers star Patty Mills had his rating dropped to 72 from 75 last year.
“I might have to make a few calls, that is low for him,” Giddey said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Australian Opals have named Tess Madgen as team captain for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Sydney which starts on September 22.
The 32-year-old guard fought back tears after learning of her elevation to the role after playing 65 games for Australia including appearances at the FIBA World Cup in 2018 and the Tokyo Olympics.
“We (the leadership group) wanted to lead by empowering everyone to be a leader and that’s something I’m extremely passionate about,” Madgen said.
“I’m going to be the best captain I can be, it’s a huge honor and I’m really overwhelmed. I love the team, let’s do this.”