Latest news with #Benny'sBoys
ABC News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Chicago Bulls NBA star Josh Giddey plays in Frankston social basketball game
It's a regular weeknight in Frankston. You rock up to the local basketball courts for a division-three social game a bit after 9pm, hoping to have a bit of fun. During the warm-up before tip-off, you look over at the opposition and what do you see? Rising Australian NBA star Josh Giddey wearing the singlet of your opposition. Loading Instagram content That was the scenario Jesse Lans and his Benny's Boys teammates found themselves in at Frankston Basketball Stadium on Monday evening. Melbourne-born The footage of the game has gone viral, and Lans is still in shock. "We just started warming up and one of our guys was like, 'Look who's in the stands'," Lans told ABC Melbourne on Tuesday. "We were like, 'Oh no, this game's not going to go our way'." Giddey joined the Chicago Bulls last year. ( Getty Images: Justin Casterline ) Giddey is accustomed to playing at venues such as Chicago's United Center, which seats more than 20,000 spectators. It's a far cry from Frankston, a suburb more than 40 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne CBD. "There was definitely a crowd there growing," said Lans, who described the evening as an "unreal experience". "I even heard that one of the games kind of got cancelled and they all made their way over." Lans admitted he was nervous about potentially injuring Giddey, who is in his off-season with the Bulls. "I was a little bit wary about that … you kind of forgot about it once we all got going," he said. Giddey (right) made his NBA debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021. ( Getty Images: Michael Reaves ) Lans did not back his chances against Giddey, who averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the 2024/25 NBA season. But the social basketballer finished the game with a 41-point haul. "To be honest, [I] stood absolutely no chance," Lans said. "He was much taller than you expect of someone at the point guard position. It was just another level to it." After the game, Giddey — who joined the Bulls after being traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder last year — posed for photographs with rival Benny's Boys players, as well referees and fans. And for the record, Benny's Boys came away with a 110-84 victory over Giddey and the Vales. The ABC of SPORT Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Josh Giddey upstaged by local star in surprise appearance at Victoria's Frankston Stadium
The prospect of dropping 50 points against Chicago Bulls NBA star Josh Giddey in a Monday night domestic game seemed so implausible it wouldn't even come up as a joke in the group chat. That was until the stuff of pure fantasy became a viral reality. When the Australian Boomers Olympic point guard walked into Frankston Stadium and said 'hi, I'm Josh' as if no one in the gym knew who he was, local basketball trainer Blake Jackson knew he had to turn it on. The 22-year-old (50 points) and Frankston Youth League teammate Jesse Lans (41) combined for 21 three pointers and 91 points for Benny's Boys in a 110-84 win over 'Fill In' Giddey and The Vales. The kicker? Jackson's iconic moment might never have happened. 'I almost didn't rock up, I was tired so I didn't even tape my ankles up — the plan was to just walk around a shoot threes,' Jackson, who has only recently returned to the floor after recovering from a broken hand, told CODE Sports. 'Then I saw Josh Giddey walk in and start suiting up, I was like 'oh boy I'm gonna have to guard an NBA player tonight'. 'But it's not everyday you get the chance to do that, so I thought I'm gonna have to give it a crack.' Give it a crack, he did, the 198cm forward producing a stunning 50-piece, spurred by a big crowd that formed once word got around that Giddey was in the house. The effort — on court five, the old showcourt, 'The Dungeon' — was about as good an advertisement for his fledgling basketball training business Ninch Hoops as he could ever wish for. 'Come learn the fine basketball arts off the man who dropped 50 on Josh Giddey' The Flinders College and Peninsula Grammar product admits Giddey, who had 20 points and four threes, 'didn't try very hard, just passed it to his teammates' but there were a couple of possessions where 'he turned it on and just torched me'. Currently part of the Frankston NBL1 South squad, Jackson has dreams of going pro but, regardless of what happens in the future, he'll always have one hell of a story to tell the grandkids. 'It doesn't feel real, to be honest, definitely a cool experience,' he said
