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Josh Giddey has been phenomenal to start the 2025-26 season. Giddey has been the catalyst behind their strong start, garnering All-Star buzz with his performances. However, he went viral after he was on the wrong end of an embarrassing ankle breaker.

In past seasons, the Chicago Bulls have often been the butt of the joke because they were consistently a mediocre team. They have not had a promising future for a long while, but that has changed with Josh Giddey’s arrival and Matas Buzelis showcasing his star-level potential.

After a solid first year with the Bulls in the 2024-25 season, Giddey has broken out as a star point guard in the 2025-26 campaign. He is averaging 21.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 9.3 assists, leading to his involvement in All-Star conversations.

Unfortunately for Giddey, his start to the season took a big hit in a 128-122 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He still had a decent game with 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. However, the main story was about him getting injured after DeAndre Hunter broke his ankles.

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Giddey is taking the ankle-breaker in stride

To be on the wrong end of an embarrassing play can make it difficult to move past it. Giddey did that with ease after the game, as he admitted it was a mistake and found the humor in the play. Of course, it will haunt him in the future, but at least he took accountability as soon as he could.

Considering Giddey is not seen as a top perimeter defender, people expect him to be on the wrong end of such plays. However, it was a more explosive ankle breaker than most because Giddey popped out of his stance. That led to him rolling his ankle, which caused him to return to the locker room before he eventually returned and finished the game.

Now, Giddey will have to live with that play for the rest of his career. It is normal for NBA players like Rudy Gobert to be on the receiving end of highlight plays such as game-winning shots and poster dunks.

“I was kinda on my tippy-toes, so it was the weak point of your ankle. As he made the cross-over, I was up on my tippy-toe and tried to change direction, and my ankle just kinda rolled a little bit,” Giddey said about Hunter’s crossover.

“It’s not a good highlight reel, but it doesn’t feel too bad or anything like that. Good move by him… It feels alright, I didn’t want to come back here and lie around for too long. Getting it re-strapped and figure it out… It feels okay, I don’t know, we’re getting treatment tonight, and we’ll see tomorrow.”

The ankle-breaker highlight might have repercussions

While Giddey managed to return to the game after the injury, the Bulls are listing him as “Questionable” ahead of their Monday game against the San Antonio Spurs. He might need a day or two to let it rest, but it all depends on whether he is ready for the game or not.

Ankle sprains can be difficult to gauge because they can recur, as evidenced by Stephen Curry’s history of re-injuring his ankles. It might be better to be safe than sorry and sit him out in the Bulls’ game against the Spurs. However, head coach Billy Donovan will miss his dynamic playmaker during a big game.

Without Giddey, the Bulls do have some reliable backup guards. Ayo Dosunmu has been phenomenal to start the 2025-26 season, while Tre Jones has also become a breakout guard for Chicago.

As long as they can maximize Giddey’s recovery, they should be in a good spot moving forward. The highlight might haunt him for a long time, but Giddey’s health is the most pressing concern for the Bulls at the moment.