Josh Giddey Says Bulls Have 'Long Way To Go' Amid 1st 5-0 Start Since Jordan Era
Josh Giddey isn't getting ahead of himself when it comes to the Chicago Bulls' best start in nearly three decades.
Speaking to reporters Friday night after a 135-125 win over the New York Knicks helped the Bulls improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season, Giddey praised the team's depth and overall play, but made it clear that nothing of significance has been accomplished yet.
"We feel good as a group of where we're at right now, but there's a long way to go," Giddey said. "Every night there's different guys making plays and stepping up. We've got a bunch of guys—six, seven guys averaging double figures. That kind of speaks volumes to how deep we are as a team and the impact we're getting across the board."
The Bulls are 5-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season, which was a year that saw Michael Jordan lead Chicago to a 69-13 record and the second of three straight NBA championships.
This season, the Bulls are the lone remaining undefeated team in the Eastern Conference and one of only three undefeated teams overall along with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Giddey, who arrived in a trade from OKC prior to last season, has been a big reason for Chicago's success this season.
The 23-year-old guard from Australia leads the team in scoring (22.0 points per game) and assists (8.0 per game), and he is second in rebounding with 8.8 per game.
On Friday, Giddey narrowly missed out on a triple-double, scoring a career-high 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
While the Bulls are only five games into their season, the victory over New York was a statement win since the Knicks were widely expected to be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference this season, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Few even picked the Bulls to make the playoffs after they missed out each of the past three years and finished 39-43 last season.
Several players are performing better than expected, though, including a group of six players who are all averaging double figures in scoring in Giddey, Nikola Vučević, Ayo Dosunmu, Matas Buzelis, Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones.
Another major positive regarding the Bulls' start is that guard Coby White, who is widely considered the team's best or second-best player, hasn't even played yet due to a calf injury.
If the Bulls can keep up their current level of play and add White to the fold on top of it, perhaps it will be time to start taking them seriously as a contender in the Eastern Conference.
