Josh Giddey is entering his sixth NBA season and his third with the Chicago Bulls, and his season expectations.
Acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024, Giddey put together the best statistical season of his career in 2025-26, averaging 17.0 points, 9.1 assists, and 8.3 rebounds per game, career highs across all three major categories. He did so while serving as the primary offensive engine for a Bulls team still very much in the early stages of its rebuild. The production was encouraging. But heading into this season, simply putting up big numbers is no longer enough.
Head coach Tiago Splitter made that clear at media day. While praising Giddey's basketball IQ and his ability to rack up triple-doubles, Splitter was direct about what needs to change.
"I don't need him to be cute," Splitter said. "I need him to be effective."
The message was pointed at Giddey's turnover issues. Last season, he averaged 3.6 turnovers per game and committed 196 total turnovers across 54 games as the team's primary playmaker. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.52 is respectable at high volume, but it is not the standard Tiago Splitter is looking for.
Protecting the ball and making quicker, simpler decisions will be the defining challenge of Giddey's 2026-27 season. Being a better floor general means knowing when to push the pace and when to pull back, a skill Splitter is actively trying to sharpen in him.
The good news is that the pieces around Giddey have never been better suited for his game. Splitter's offensive philosophy is built around pace and speed of decision-making, which plays directly into Giddey's strengths as a transition initiator and open-court playmaker. Add a wing tandem of Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, two long, athletic forwards who can finish above the rim and create in space, and this figures to be the most dynamic supporting cast Giddey has had since arriving in Chicago.
The formula is to push the pace in transition, make quick decisions in the half-court, and let the talent around him do the work. If Giddey can clean up his turnovers and operate efficiently within Splitter's system, an All-Star appearance is not out of the question.
Josh is entering the second year of his four-year, $100 million contract with aspirations of becoming an NBA All-Star. The deal features a flat salary structure, meaning he will earn $25 million per season through the 2028–29 NBA season.
