Josh Giddey’s potential has never been in question. He’s a point guard with uncommon size (6-foot-8) and rebounding ability. His savvy passing skills and high basketball IQ make him a triple-double threat on any night. Mashed together, those qualities make him the perfect floor general for the Chicago Bulls’ newly implemented up-tempo style.

He’s also only 22 years old despite being most of the way through his fourth NBA season.

However, two particular skills have prevented him from realizing that potential; inefficient shooting and poor individual defense.

Through the first three months of the 2024-25 season, those deficiencies continued to show themselves. From opening night until Jan. 19, Giddey was averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from three.

Something flipped in the former top-10 pick on Jan. 20, though. In the 20 contests since, he’s averaging 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

Most importantly, his shooting percentages have jumped to 49.8 and 46.2 percent, respectively.

In his nine games since the All-Star break, Giddey’s scoring has increased even further to 23.1 points per night and he’s shooting 52.2 percent from the field and a whopping 52.5 percent from three.

His deep-range shooting improvement is staggering, especially considering he’s a 32.6 percent career shooter from behind the arc. But that’s not the part of his game accounting for his unexpected jump in production.

Josh Giddey’s transformation has come at the rim, not from three

Yes, the Australian National Team guard has gone from a well below average three-point shooter to a well above average one, at least temporarily, but he won’t shoot better than 50 percent from deep for the rest of his career. That’s obviously unsustainable.

What is sustainable are the other aspects of his offensive game he’s modified.

Giddey averaged a season-high 19.8 ppg in February. His usage rate increased with Zach LaVine gone and yes, his shooting percentages took a leap as well. But things have gotten even better in March—despite the Bulls’ point guard hitting just 31.3 percent of his 4.0 threes a night.

Giddey has averaged 7.5 free throw attempts in March. His highest this season was 4.4. Almost 75 percent of his shots have been two-pointers; he hadn’t crossed the 70 percent threshold at any point this year. More than 27 percent of his points have come at the free-throw line, up almost nine percent from February. He’s averaged 12.0 points in the paint in March; his previous high was 8.0 in December.

Giddey has simply been more aggressive. He’s getting to the rim instead of settling for floaters, and that aggressiveness is helping him draw fouls and get to the line more often. Essentially, he’s finding easier ways to score, an observation echoed by Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic:

““The shots that he’s getting and generating and the shots he’s looking to take, in my opinion, are higher-quality shots for him. … I think now he’s gotten himself deeper. He’s gotten more to the dotted area. Maybe not all the way to the rim; he does get to the rim. With his size, he’s good in that area of the floor.””

Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan

It’s fair to wonder when the proverbial other shoe will drop. His newfound accuracy from deep has already fallen dramatically in March.

But he’s a slick finisher near the rim, and with his size and length, should be able to get there more leisurely than most other point guards. He’s also shot around 80 percent from the free-throw line the past two seasons; if his attempts stay steady around seven per game—his career average is 1.9—that’s an extra four or so points per game.

Nearly 80 percent of Giddey’s points in March have come either in the paint or from the free-throw line, per NBA.com. If he remains assertive, that production should be sustainable, which will lead to a new version of Giddey that’s here to stay, not one who’s uptick in three-point shooting is a flash in the pan.