Just stumbled on that Josh Giddey teaching video while scrolling through highlights last night. Figured, hell, might as well take notes since my rec league team’s offense stinks worse than week-old gym socks.
The Setup
Grabbed my notebook first thing this morning. Brewed some terrible gas station coffee – burnt taste doesn’t distract me like good stuff would. Threw the video on my cracked tablet and hit rewind like ten times straight away.
Noticed something right off: Giddey ain’t just running drills. Dude’s walking baby-faced rookies through plays like a patient grandpa teaching dominoes.
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Three things jumped out:
- Kept stopping mid-drill to reposition guys himself
- Used his hands to show passing angles while barking court directions
- Made the same skinny kid restart five times till he cut properly
My Parking Lot Experiment
Dragged three neighbors to the apartment lot after lunch. Marked concrete with chalk stolen from my kid’s art box. Tried mimicking Giddey’s teaching style exactly:
- Made Mike (who always jacks terrible shots) play point
- Physically pushed his shoulders sideways to show pivot direction
- Counted “ONE-TWO” crazy loud like a drill sergeant during passes
Felt stupid as hell at first. Mike kept forgetting cuts while the other two argued about last week’s bad call. Giddey makes this look easier than it is.
The Breakthrough Moment
Around the eighth try something clicked. Had them practice JUST the first pass twenty times straight. No shooting allowed. Made Mike pass left-handed once when he kept telegraphing throws.
Suddenly skinny Jim slides into the chalk spot perfectly. Mike whips the pass without looking. Thing hit Jim’s hands like magnets. Even my neighbor Carl shut up about his beer league ref conspiracy theories.
The Takeaway
Giddey’s secret sauce? It ain’t fancy moves. It’s that stubborn-as-hell repetition drill mindset. Show. Do. Repeat until brains remember what bones forgot. My crew still can’t shoot worth a damn, but damned if we ain’t moving without the ball proper now. Might try teaching bounce passes through traffic next Tuesday.
