# 270: Josh Giddey (Player Profile)

An episode of [The Howie Games](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1146329262), 3 Jun 2026, 7:16.

Audio: https://enrichment.soundstack.com/4vjqq8/episode.flightcast.com/mvhyyaw3asklnwt093ddciyb.mp3

What’s Josh Giddey’s go-to comfort food? (Italian.) Can he cook it? (Not a chance.) It is as fun and fast-paced as his rise to a $100 million deal in the NBA. But before we get to the business, Josh opens up about life away from basketball, from favourite holidays and TV shows to the NBA (and AFL) stars he looked up to growing up. He shares the teammate he rates most highly, the player who surprised him the most, and what it means to represent Australia on the world stage. There are plenty of laughs, a few surprises, and a glimpse into the personality behind one of Australia’s brightest basketball stars. Don't miss Josh’s full Howie Games episode! A look at the journey of an Aussie making it big in the NBA, navigating life in the spotlight, and chasing success on the biggest basketball stage in the world! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:02] A listener production.
[0:04] Okay, are you recording?
[0:07] Welcome along to episode 270 of the Howie Games, the player profile of NBA star Josh Giddy.
[0:13] Josh, he's that big.
[0:15] He has his own shoe.
[0:16] Yep.
[0:17] Check out the Puma All Pro Nitro 2 Giddy.
[0:21] The Puma All Pro Nitro 2 Giddy.
[0:23] It is a magnificent shoe.
[0:25] Get them on your feet.
[0:26] Now, before we roll...
[0:28] After 10 years of the podcast, next Monday, we are launching a whole new podcast concept in the Howie Games feed with a whole new voice, a big-time superstar voice.
[0:42] It is called The Big Five.
[0:44] First episode drops Monday when all will be revealed.
[0:48] The Big Five.
[0:49] Don't be missing that gear.
[0:53] Josh Giddy, you've gone with a buzzer beater from halfway, but are you ready for the Howie Games player profile questions?
[0:59] Very ready.
[0:59] Full episode out next week.
[1:01] People are going to love it.
[1:01] What are your nicknames?
[1:02] Giddy and JG.
[1:04] JG.
[1:05] What's your favourite food?
[1:06] Italian.
[1:07] Italian.
[1:07] Can you cook?
[1:09] No.
[1:09] Right.
[1:09] People are coming round your house and you have to cook to impress them.
[1:13] What are you going to make?
[1:14] Toast or cereal.
[1:15] Toast or cereal.
[1:16] After my own heart.
[1:18] On the toast, are you putting crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
[1:20] No peanut butter.
[1:21] No peanut butter?
[1:21] Uh-uh.
[1:21] What are you going with?
[1:23] Lots of butter, a little bit of Vegemite.
[1:24] Okay, Vegemite it is.
[1:26] Um...
[1:27] First ever job that Josh had?
[1:29] I had two.
[1:29] I was working at school holiday basketball camps with my dad and I was mowing lawns with my best friend.
[1:35] Okay.
[1:35] So the pay packet's gone in the right direction.
[1:37] What was your first car?
[1:39] Oh, my first car that I bought myself was a BMW.
[1:41] BMW.
[1:42] We talk about cars in the main episode.
[1:45] What are you currently watching?
[1:46] Well, Entourage for probably the 10th time.
[1:48] I keep watching that show.
[1:49] Who's your favorite character?
[1:50] Oh, well, Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold is probably my number one.
[1:53] He's been on this show and he blew my mind.
[1:55] He's the man.
[1:56] He's a Chicago guy, so I got to know him very well.
[1:58] Oh, so you know him?
[1:58] Yeah, yeah.
[1:59] I know him well.
[1:59] And Vince Chase obviously isn't probably my favorite.
[2:02] Have you met Jordan in your time with Chicago or not?
[2:04] No, I haven't.
[2:04] Okay.
[2:05] Jordan or LeBron?
[2:07] Jordan.
[2:07] Jordan.
[2:07] Okay, that was a very quick answer.
[2:09] Favorite movie?
[2:10] The Wolf of Wall Street.
[2:11] Wolf of Wall Street, Leo.
[2:12] Yeah.
[2:13] And a good Aussie girl, Margaret Robbie.
[2:14] Margaret, yeah.
[2:14] Great film.
[2:16] We talk about fashion in the main episode.
[2:17] If you had one designer you are buying from, who is it?
[2:21] Ooh, Puma.
[2:22] Puma, yes.
[2:24] See, that is a man who knows how to represent his brand.
[2:27] The Puma Nitro 2 Giddy Outback is out now, so you can get your hands on that.
[2:32] Very good answer.
[2:32] Music, what are you listening to?
[2:34] A lot of rap, hip-hop, R&B.
[2:36] A lot of guys near me are listening to the same stuff.
[2:38] I bet they do.
[2:39] Favourite holiday destination?
[2:43] Hawaii.
[2:44] Hawaii.
[2:45] Yeah.
[2:45] Yeah.
[2:45] Nice.
[2:46] Yeah.
[2:46] Nice.
[2:46] Are you a big wave rider on the North Shore?
[2:48] No, I don't surf.
[2:49] I need to learn.
[2:50] I want to learn.
[2:51] You're quite tall for surfing.
[2:53] Bucket list destination.
[2:54] Haven't been.
[2:54] Love to go.
[2:55] I'd love to go to Greece.
[2:57] That's somewhere I've always wanted to go.
[2:58] I could see you in Greece.
[2:59] All right.
[3:00] Who is the best player you've played against?
[3:04] Probably LeBron.
[3:05] LeBron.
[3:06] What is it like playing against LeBron and did you pinch yourself?
[3:09] First time, yeah.
[3:10] Like it's one of them moments where that's a guy I grew up idolizing and looking up to and then you're on the court.
[3:15] And also any of those guys like Steph, Kevin Durant, any of those guys I grew up playing with on video games and on 2K and watching them on TV, they were guys I was idolized.
[3:24] So, yeah, anytime I'm playing against guys like that, it's pretty surreal.
[3:26] That's bizarre that you're playing a video game against a bloke and then you're actually playing against them.
[3:29] Right, I know.
[3:30] It's crazy.
[3:30] Best teammate you've played with?
[3:32] Shea Gilchrist Alexander, MVP.
[3:33] He's probably going to win him again this year.
[3:35] So yeah, him.
[3:36] What separates him?
[3:37] Well, there's a lot of things.
[3:39] I think how hard he works.
[3:40] That's probably the number one.
[3:42] Anytime I went back to the gym, he was in there.
[3:43] He's always working out.
[3:44] He's always getting extra reps. And I think how like, he's a superstar, but he's the most humble superstar I've ever been around.
[3:50] And he wants to make everyone around him better.
[3:52] So when you have a guy like that, who's leading the charge for a team, that's why they're so successful.
[3:56] That's why they're winning championships.
[3:57] And that's why he's going to win another MVP this year.
[4:00] Podcast, do you listen to them?
[4:02] Sometimes.
[4:03] Give me one you listen to.
[4:04] Doesn't that have to be your favourite?
[4:05] Howard Games.
[4:06] This is why you deliver for your sponsors.
[4:09] There's all these social media clips that go out from this.
[4:11] That's the one I want to go out.
[4:12] No, nicely done, mate.
[4:13] No, I appreciate that.
[4:15] Something you are scared of.
[4:18] Oh, deep bodies of water.
[4:20] Okay.
[4:20] If I was in the middle of the ocean, I'd be terrified.
[4:22] Okay.
[4:22] Yeah.
[4:22] You've got to watch out for those reality shows.
[4:24] I'm sure you'll get asked to come on at some stage.
[4:27] Something that Josh Giddey is good at that we wouldn't know, doesn't matter how minute or bizarre it is, I think I'm good at –
[4:34] I'm a really good poker player.
[4:35] Are you?
[4:36] Yeah.
[4:36] Okay.
[4:37] Tell us about your poker days here in Melbourne.
[4:39] Who do you play with?
[4:40] Luke Tunnicliffe.
[4:41] Yes, he would love that.
[4:42] Luke Tunnicliffe.
[4:43] Warnie?
[4:43] Warnie, yep.
[4:44] The Hashems.
[4:45] So I play with a lot of guys.
[4:46] Does Maxie come in as well?
[4:47] Maxie's in there.
[4:48] Right.
[4:48] Yeah, there's been a lot of guys.
[4:49] Aaron Finch.
[4:50] Oh, Finchie.
[4:51] Campbell Brown.
[4:51] Right.
[4:52] We've got a lot of guys.
[4:52] So it's good fun, those tables.
[4:56] Campbell Brown is one of the most entertaining people you could ever meet.
[4:58] He is a funny guy.
[4:59] He would provide fun.
[5:00] Yeah.
[5:00] Okay, last couple for you.
[5:02] What does it mean to you to represent the green and gold when you're pulling the boomer singlet?
[5:06] Yeah.
[5:06] That's probably, for me, that's like the pinnacle of basketball.
[5:09] For an Australian kid growing up, I watched the Boomers every time there was a World Cup or Olympic Games.
[5:14] That, for me, was something I always wanted to do.
[5:16] And I probably put that above the NBA in terms of when I was a kid, like aspiring to play at one level.
[5:20] The Boomers was always the top for me.
[5:22] And, yeah, to do that, I've been to one Olympics, one World Cup.
[5:25] And, yeah, the green and gold, there's not really worlds.
[5:28] Different emotion comes out of you when you represent the country.
[5:30] So, yeah.
[5:30] And the Olympics comes around once every four years.
[5:33] So when you put the jersey on, you better be ready to go.
[5:35] And yeah, it's an unbelievable feeling.
[5:37] Favorite American city outside of the two that you have lived in?
[5:40] Because I understand you don't get to see much of them, but you've seen a lot of the country.
[5:44] Yeah, I'd say...
[5:46] I've always been a big New York fan.
[5:48] I love New York.
[5:48] I love LA, the weather, sunny.
[5:51] So I'd probably say they're pretty cliche, probably the two most obvious ones.
[5:54] But Phoenix is another one that's really good, really hot, really good weather.
[5:57] So they're probably the three.
[5:58] If I'm going out for dinner in Chicago, I should go too?
[6:01] Trey Deeter.
[6:02] Beautiful.
[6:02] Trey Deeter.
[6:03] What am I getting?
[6:04] Oh...
[6:05] What aren't you getting?
[6:06] So what cuisine is it?
[6:07] It's Italian.
[6:07] Italian, okay.
[6:08] Kind of like, it's like a fancy Italian spot.
[6:10] It's at the top of this beautiful building that overlooks the city.
[6:14] So I try not to go there too much just because of how fancy it is, but we probably go there once every couple of weeks.
[6:19] Final question for you.
[6:20] This defines you, Josh, as a proud Australian, as a Chicago Bull, as a Puma ambassador globally, as an up-and-coming Australian sports star.
[6:32] You have to look me in the eye when you answer this, as awkward as it is.
[6:34] Josh Giddey, pineapple on pizza, yes or no?
[6:38] No.
[6:38] Oh, no.
[6:40] Oh, shit.
[6:41] Pineapple, yes.
[6:41] Pineapple on pizza, no.
[6:43] I sometimes have a debate that if people say no to that, I give them a second option.
[6:46] If they get the second one wrong, the podcast doesn't go to air.
[6:49] What's the second one?
[6:49] The second one was peanut butter crunchy or smooth.
[6:52] You've gone on with that.
[6:53] So I don't have that.
[6:54] Okay.
[6:54] Okay.
[6:55] You've got a third?
[6:56] Favorite cereal.
[6:58] Oh, Wee-Bix.
[6:58] Any cereal.
[6:59] Wee-Bix.
[6:59] You win.
[7:00] I'm a Wee-Bix, man.
[7:00] You win.
[7:01] Well done.
[7:01] Congratulations, mate.
[7:02] Howie, appreciate you.
[7:03] Well done.
[7:03] Thank you, brother.
[7:07] My God, Elizabeth, I'm coming, baby.

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