When Giddey didn’t play for most of that Dallas series, he appeared expendable as the Thunder were looking for upgrades to reach the championship level. Realizing Giddey being 21-years-old and on the trade block could be difficult to digest, Goorjian paid his pupil a visit in the United States as a sense of encouragement, reminding him there was plenty of basketball this summer to reprove himself as a standout guard.

“I didn’t work, for the first time ever, I didn’t coach domestically and I went to the United States during that process and I thought we created a good bond together,” Goorjian said. “I just knew he had a huge focus on this, it’s a new start. Get through the (NBA) season, do everything you can to help OKC win it. But he was really excited about how he plays on this team. (The ball) was in his hand. It was orchestrated through him and he’s playing with no matter the circumstance, his mates, and I think you can see that in what’s gone on so far.”

The Australians are likely competing with Canada to win Group A and they turned in a sharp performance behind Giddey, Landale and the ageless Patty Mills, who drilled an off-balance 3-pointer to secure the game in the final minute.

The Olympic tournament offers Giddey a rebirth, another chance to display why he was the sixth overall pick in the NBA Draft three years ago. The rebuilding Bulls were excited to acquire Giddey as staple in their backcourt and he played like a true floor leader in the tournament opener.

“Tonight was the epitome of Australian basketball,” he said. “We had a full team effort. We had contributors all across the board. That’s what it’s going to take to win a game like this and a tournament like this. Spain is one of the powerhouse countries in this tournament and have been for a number of years. I thought our guys did an awesome job of responding to that. We didn’t take a backward step all night.”