Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey delivered one of the best moments of the 2024-25 NBA season back on March 27. Giddey hit a half-court game-winning buzzer-beater against the Los Angeles Lakers to cap off a sensational comeback win for the Bulls, and he reflected on that shot on the Ball Magnets podcast.
“The shot obviously gets a lot of attention, but we were down like nine points with 15 seconds left,” Giddey said. “And there was a lot that had to go right to lead up to that shot going in. And we went up, and then Austin Reaves hit that layup with three seconds left.
“We had no timeouts and I tried to get the ball into Coby [White] quick, [but] they denied him,” Giddey continued. “I threw it to [Patrick Williams], and he was kind of stuck awkwardly on the sideline. So, I started trailing the play, and he threw it back to me, and the best shot … I could get was from where I shot it.
“If I had kept dribbling, the clock probably would have ran out,” Giddey added. “So, I just let it fly, and luckily it went in.
While luck did play a factor, Giddey stated he felt like the shot was going in when the ball left his hands.
“That’s kind of why I held my follow-through and kept walking,” Giddey stated. “Because when it left my fingertips, it felt good.”
Here is Giddey’s incredible shot.
GIDDEY HALF COURT BUZZER BEATER OMG 😱🚨
BULLS BEAT LAKERS. pic.twitter.com/EhuoMT53O3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2025
Just a few days before this clash, the Bulls had blown out the Lakers 146-114 at Crypto.com Arena on March 22. The Lakers had revenge on their minds for the rematch and seemed set to come away with an easy win when they led by 18 points early in the fourth quarter.
A Bulls comeback seemed highly improbable, but a 32-15 run saw them cut the Lakers’ lead to 111-110 with under a minute remaining. Austin Reaves would push the lead back to three, and Giddey then missed a floater, which seemed to seal the Bulls’ fate.
Reaves would hit both his free throws on the next play to push the lead to five with 12.1 seconds remaining. The Lakers looked to have averted disaster, but things would go horribly wrong from then on.
LeBron James left Patrick Williams open for a three-pointer, and he drilled it from the corner. Giddey would then steal James’ inbounds pass, and Coby White hit another three to give the Bulls the lead.
Reaves then scored again with 3.1 seconds remaining, which set the stage for Giddey’s memorable shot. With time winding down, the Australian let it fly from half-court over James and drilled it. It was a night that Giddey will never forget, and James won’t either, but for all the wrong reasons.
Giddey finished with 25 points (8-19 FG), 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals against the Lakers. It was one of the 22-year-old’s best performances of the season, and it was part of a very promising stretch of play from him.
Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the Bulls after the All-Star break. He was very efficient, too, shooting 50% from the field and 45.7% from beyond the arc.
The timing of that stretch was quite ideal for Giddey. He is a restricted free agent and, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley, wants a contract worth around $30 million a year from the Bulls.
