Giddey back in practice as Bulls prepare for return

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Australian Chicago Bulls star Josh Giddey is back on the floor ahead of his return from a hamstring strain right before the start of 2026.

Giddey, 23, strained his left hamstring against the Minnesota Timberwolves in late December.

Bulls beat reporter Will Gottlieb reported Giddey "participated in some of today’s non-contact practice".

Giddey said initially "felt like cramp" before  limping off the floor with 8:10 to go in the third quarter of their home game against the Timberwolves on December 30, 2025 (AEDT). The Bulls said he would be out two weeks.

"It just felt tight," Giddey said.

"It felt tight kind of throughout the game, and then after halftime I came out and as soon as I went to take off off the screen at half court, I just — I kind of felt like a cramp. That was probably the best way to explain it.

"And, you know, soft tissue stuff you don’t want to play around with. So I kind of put my hand up straight away and let them know I felt something, came out of the game.

"I tried, I was going to come back that night. I tried to get it warm again, but just, you know, probably the safer option to just sit out that night.

"This is my first ever soft tissue kind of injury, so I didn’t really know. That’s why I didn’t know the severity of what happened.

"I was thinking about keeping playing, but, you know, soft tissue stuff, as I said, you want to be careful with it.

"You don’t want this stuff to linger. You want to kind of hit it on the head as soon as it pops up, and that’s what we’ve done."

The Bulls have gone 3-3 in the Melbourne-born point guard's absence with a game against the Miami Heat postponed. It means the reschedule clash has created a log-jam against the Heat at the end of January. It's almost certain Giddey will be back by then.

• Jan 28 - @ IND
• Jan 29 - vs MIA
• Jan 30 - Off Day
• Jan 31 - @ MIA
• Feb. 1 - vs MIA

Giddey, who signed a USD $100M extension with the Bulls before the start of the 2025-26 is having a historic, All-Star calibre season. He is only one of two players to average 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game this season. The other player is superstar Nikola Jokic.