On Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls faced the Los Angeles Clippers — pitting two of the most famous Australian players in the league, Josh Giddey and Ben Simmons, against each other. In the end, it was the Clippers that took a 121-117 victory, overcoming a strong effort from Giddey that had him making history for the Bulls.

Simmons, meanwhile, has been thriving in a role off the bench for the Clippers ever since he joined the team after securing a buyout from the Brooklyn Nets. On Wednesday, he put up six points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, carving a role for himself even though his athleticism is no longer at the level it once was when he was making All-Star teams left and right.

Nonetheless, Giddey has never lost belief in Simmons; the Bulls guard revealed that he and his Australian compatriot have kept close tabs on one another and have maintained a strong relationship over the years.

“We’ve stayed close and as I came to the NBA, we’ve gotten closer. That’s a guy I’ve always rooted for,” Giddey said after the Bulls’ loss to the Clippers, per K.C. Johnson of CHSN.

Giddey proved how close he is to Simmons by showing that he has a signed Clippers jersey of the 28-year-old point forward in his locker room. Their close relationship with one another has blossomed all the way from their proximity towards one another back in Australia with them both being from Melbourne.

The past season or so has not been particularly kind for either Giddey or Simmons, but in recent weeks, they have been playing much better basketball, justifying the belief of fans whose faith in the two’s basketball abilities never wavered.

Ben Simmons, Josh Giddey are finding their place with the Clippers, Bulls

While Ben Simmons’ downfall was more steep than that of Josh Giddey’s, both of them have endured some rough patches in their career in recent years. Simmons has never quite shaken off his back injuries fully, preventing him from reaching his previous levels of play despite being just 28 years of age, while Giddey, after a rough 2023-24 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, couldn’t find a consistent rhythm on the Bulls.

Regardless, 2025 appears to be much kinder for the two; Simmons is now back playing for a team with contending aspirations in the Clippers, while Giddey’s confidence is once again sky-high, as evidenced by the way he’s stroking it from deep in recent games.