Australian NBA sensation Josh Giddey stunned fans on Monday night by suiting up for a local basketball match in Victoria.

The 22-year-old Chicago Bulls guard turned out for Vales Basketball Club in the Monday Championship Men’s compeтιтion at the Dreamstreet Lending Arena in Seaford, a far cry from the packed stadiums of the NBA.

Giddey, currently on the brink of securing a deal worth over AU$250million, surprised locals by filling in for the Vales simply so he could play with a mate.

‘He did a great job, he just wanted a run with a great mate and his mate wanted him to fill in for us, and I said, ‘Yeah, no worries’,’ coach Ann Monaghan told SEN Breakfast.

The club normally runs with six players and wasn’t expecting to add anyone – until Monaghan got a call.

‘He actually rang me during the day to say, ‘Hey, my friend wants to come down’,’ she said.

Local basketball fans in Frankston were shocked when Aussie NBA star Josh Giddey took to the court for a Monday night league game

Giddey is back in Australia after his Chicago Bulls bowed out of the NBA play-in tournament against the Miami Heat

Giddey was friends with one of the Vales players from his junior days and agreed to come and play a game with him

‘I said, ‘Listen, we’ve got six, we don’t normally run with any more than that because the boys like to run it hard’.

‘But he said, ‘It’s my mate Josh’. So I went, ‘Oh, look, okay, we’ll give him a run’.’

As it turned out, another player pulled out, opening the door for Giddey to run the game – and what followed was a surreal night for Frankston basketball.

‘We didn’t even get to give the heads up to the guys that couldn’t make it last night, but news moved pretty quickly,’ Monaghan said.

‘It was so good for local basketball and the fans, we weren’t even on court one last night, we were on court five.’

Word of Giddey’s appearance spread like wildfire, with referees and players from other courts stopping their own matches to catch a glimpse.

Despite his best efforts, Giddey couldn’t drag the Vales to victory, with Benny’s Boys winning 110-84.

Still, the crowd was treated to a show, with Giddey nailing three-pointers, delivering pinpoint pᴀsses, and even throwing in a highlight-reel block.

Players from other courts left their games to come and get a glimpse of Giddey and even a cheeky pH๏τo with the NBA star

Even the match officials were left stunned that the Chicago Bulls star was on their hardwood court for local league basketball 

‘He was fantastic. He got mobbed afterwards, but he just wanted a run with his mates,’ Monaghan said.

‘He’s such a humble guy and he insisted that I tell the boys before the game.

‘I was just going to let him rock up and tell them then, they would have been fine with it, but he said, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to intrude’.’

Monaghan asked the team if they were okay with an extra sub.

‘Then I said, ‘Do you wonder who it is?’, and they were like, ‘What?!’.’

Vales Basketball Club president Candice Adolphe was just as thrilled.

‘My kids were able to get down there and they quite enjoyed the show,’ she told 3AW Breakfast.

‘We were pretty stoked actually that he was able to put on a Vales jersey.’

Giddey cut his teeth in the Australian National Basketball League, playing for the Adelaide 36ers before being drafted into the NBA

One stunned fan posted, ‘Imagine warming up for your Z grade local social game and an NBA player fills in.’

Another joked, ‘Bugger we flew to Sacramento to see Josh play and we could have gone 15 mins down the road. That’s so awesome.’

A third added, ‘Did he have to park in the dirt over the road too?’

Giddey’s off-season cameo comes after a turbulent but strong NBA season.

Traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Bulls in June 2024, Giddey found his rhythm post-All-Star break, averaging 22.6 points, 10 rebounds and 9.1 ᴀssists.

He finished the regular season averaging 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 ᴀssists.

His highlight of the year came with a buzzer-beater against LeBron James’ Lakers, capping a triple-double of 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 ᴀssists.

NBA insider Brian Windhorst believes Giddey is now in line for a mᴀssive contract.

‘The going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA is around $US30million … and he is their starter,’ Windhorst said on ESPN.

The point guard is off contract and could pocket a monster five-year deal worth around $250million AUD

‘If you look at a guy like Immanuel Quickley, he got five years and $162million [$257million AUD] … I’m sure Josh Giddey’s hoping for something like that.’

Some reports suggest the Bulls may first sign him to a one-year deal before committing long-term.

Giddey’s roots stretch deep in Australian basketball.

He grew up playing for the Melbourne Tigers juniors under the watchful eyes of his father Warwick and Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze.

He starred at the 2019 Under-18 Championships, joined the NBA Global Academy, and signed with the Adelaide 36ers in 2020.

He made history in the NBL as the youngest Australian to record consecutive triple-doubles and was named Rookie of the Year.

Drafted sixth overall by Oklahoma City in 2021, he became the youngest NBA player to notch a triple-double in January 2022.

It is not the first time NBA royalty has checked in for a game in local basketball in Australia.

In 2017, Australian NBA star Ben Simmons surprised locals by joining a social basketball game in Greensborough, Melbourne.

He filled in for a mate at the Diamond Valley Sports Centre, drawing a crowd once word spread.

Fans were initially sceptical, but quickly gathered as they realised it was Simmons on court.

He took over in the final quarter, scoring 15 straight points and finishing with 34 in a 72–52 win.

The cameo came after Simmons missed his debut NBA season due to injury following his selection as the 76ers’ number one draft pick in 2016.