One of the Bulls' newest acquisitions, Josh Giddey, was overcome with emotion after his team Australia fell short to Serbia in the first round of the Olympic tournament.
The 21-year-old struggled to fight back the tears as he expressed his belief in his team while agonizing over having to wait four more years to get another shot at the gold.
"We were so close. We had so many chances," Giddey said after the loss. "I just think when you have the guys on this team that we do, you believe you have the ability to go all the way. We believed that with this group. We put ourselves in a great position to win that game and we come up short like that in overtime. It's heartbreaking. It kills me that I have to wait four more years for another chance at this. Man, I'm so proud of this group. I love this team. Our coaches and our fans deserved a lot better than this."
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It's refreshing for Bulls fans to know how much Giddey cares about basketball. He's a true team player, overcome with emotion about letting down his country, even though Australia lost to a strong Serbian team headlined by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
For what it's worth, Giddey performed exceedingly well in the Olympics. In four games, he averaged 17.5 points, 6.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. He shot an impressive 50% from the field and 47.4% from 3-point range, the latter of which is a mark placed under a microscope because of his somewhat underdeveloped shot from distance.
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As it stands, all of Giddey's averages finished in the top 10 of Olympic players, except for his 12th place standing in points per game. Giddey proved in his first Olympic run he can play with the best the world has to offer.
In Australia's final game against Serbia, the Serbians erased a 24-point deficit to win the game, 95-90, in overtime. Giddey finished second on the team in scoring, posting 25 points behind Patty Mills' 26. He shot 11-of-20 from the field while also posting five rebounds and four assists. He posted the team's highest efficiency rating, despite turning the ball over a whopping seven times.
But the Olympics served as a strong example of what Bulls fans will be seeing from him next season. The Bulls' front office traded Alex Caruso to the Thunder in exchange for Giddey. He's expected to be a vital piece of the team's re-tooling, as they committed to a youth movement this offseason.
With him, he brings strong play-making ability as a facilitator. Giddey has a knack for stuffing the stat sheet, as he did in the Olympics. He can score, make efficient passes and rebound the ball surprisingly well for a point guard.
But he's also bringing his experience with him from the Olympics, which taught him plenty about the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity he's given.
"Every possession matters. And it can go so quickly," Giddey said when asked about what he learned from playing in the Olympics. "We play four games and that's it. You've gotta wait four years. I don't really know how to sum it up now. It's just so raw and soon after the game. I love this team and I believed we had the group to go all the way. We've gotta wait another four years. This feeling sucks. It's gonna hurt but it's gonna build us and we'll be back in LA."