Adelaide Professional Athletes

Josh Giddey entered the 2026-27 NBA season with a confident message and a hidden injury — and by the end of opening night, only one of those things was showing.

The Adelaide product, now in his second season with the Chicago Bulls, was quietly nursing a left wrist injury sustained during the preseason when he took the floor against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, October 21. Nobody outside the locker room knew about it. The tell, according to Heavy Sports, was the wrap on his wrist the entire night — but the questions only came afterward.

Giddey shot 1-of-10 from the field, scored two points, and finished a ghastly -39 in a 135-92 blowout loss. It was, by most measures, one of the worst performances of his NBA career. He did dish six assists and pull down seven rebounds, but in a 43-point home loss, those numbers were decorative. After the game, asked about the wrap, Giddey disclosed the preseason injury for the first time.

Rough Start, Lingering Questions

The revelation reframed the opener, but it didn't fully excuse it. Chicago fell apart across the board against a Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors squad, and Giddey's inability to generate offense — he went scoreless through his first 20 minutes — was a visible drag on any offensive rhythm the Bulls tried to establish. Head coach Tiago Splitter was left to sort through the wreckage.

Giddey was listed as probable heading into the Bulls' second game of the season, a Friday visit to Milwaukee. He played through it.

Signs of Life in Milwaukee

The Bulls bounced back with a 132-125 win over the Bucks on October 23 — a 15-point comeback that offered a more representative look at what this team can be. Giddey's line was modest (6 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds in 24 minutes), and his -15 plus-minus suggests he was still working through something, but the nine dimes pointed toward the playmaking role Chicago needs him to anchor.

Splitter reshuffled his starting lineup for the Bucks game, slotting Giddey alongside Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, and Jalen Williams — a configuration that apparently had enough juice to engineer a second-half surge in Milwaukee.

The Bigger Picture

Whether Giddey's wrist is a short-term concern or a longer shadow hanging over Chicago's season remains an open question. He won't be listed at full health until the injury report clears, and in a team still building toward playoff relevance, any degraded version of Giddey's passing and shot-creation hurts the project. Bulls fans will be watching closely for how the wrist responds as the schedule thickens.

For Adelaide alumni tracking Giddey's trajectory, the early returns are inconclusive by design — one game derailed by a hidden injury, one comeback win with a stat line that reads better in the assists column than the scoring one. The 2026-27 season, at least, has been anything but dull through two games.

Two Adelaide products are making a strong case for themselves in Chicago — and they did it in the same game.

In Wednesday's 125-104 blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Josh Giddey and Leonard Miller both turned in performances that have Bulls fans buzzing heading into the final stretch of the preseason. The result lifted Chicago to 2-2 in exhibition play, but the more interesting subplot belongs to the pair of alumni putting their stamps on a roster still finding its identity.

Giddey: The Facilitator Question

Giddey ran the show in the way only he can — dishing nine assists against Milwaukee while scoring just six points. It's a pattern that has defined his preseason: prioritizing playmaking over shot creation, keeping teammates involved, and making the right read almost every possession.

But as Heavy Sports noted, the question worth asking is whether that approach makes life hard enough on opposing defenses. A guard who defers to teammates is a luxury when surrounded by willing scorers; it becomes a liability if opponents decide they can sag off him without consequence. With the regular season approaching, Giddey's shot volume — and efficiency — will be worth watching closely.

Still, nine assists in a preseason blowout is not a footnote. For an Adelaide alum who has long been celebrated for his court vision, it's on-brand excellence.

Miller: The Quiet Star

If Giddey was the engine, Miller was the exclamation point. The forward put up 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals against the Bucks — a well-rounded line that ClutchPoints highlighted as part of a pattern of "tremendous consistency" across the preseason.

The stakes for Miller go beyond box scores. According to ClutchPoints, a contract extension decision looms over his Bulls tenure, and every strong outing sharpens his leverage. In a game that featured the likes of Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell, and Matas Buzelis also drawing attention, Miller carved out his own spotlight — which, given the competition for headlines on this roster, is no small feat.

The Adelaide Factor

It's worth pausing on what it means for Adelaide to have two NBA contributors on the same team performing simultaneously. Giddey, the more established name, arrived in Chicago as a centerpiece. Miller has been building a case for a long-term role from the margins. That both players shone in the same preseason win — against a legitimate opponent in Milwaukee — is a genuine story, not just a feel-good footnote.

The NBA regular season kicks off shortly. Whether Giddey leans into his scoring or doubles down on his facilitator role, and whether Miller's preseason form translates into a contract extension, are two of the more compelling threads to follow on the Bulls' roster. For Adelaide fans, the answer to both questions matters — there's real skin in the game on Chicago's South Side.