Kentucky basketball fan favorite Oscar Tshiebwe has attracted a new group of admirers over the course of his first professional season, and the former Wildcat will be back on national TV as part of the NBA’s All-Star Game festivities this weekend.
Tshiebwe is one of 28 players that will compete in the Panini Rising Stars Game on Friday night, a showcase of young basketball talent featuring NBA rookies, second-year players and standouts from the G League.
Now in his first season with the Indiana Pacers organization, Tshiebwe — the former national player of the year and two-time All-American at UK — is on a two-way deal that has seen him split time with the NBA team and its G League affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants.
He’ll be joined in the game by Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Cason Wallace, one of Tshiebwe’s teammates at Kentucky last season. “None-and-done” UK player Oscar TshiebweOscar Tshiebwe, who practiced with the Cats for the final semester of the 2021-22 season but never played before going to the Portland Trail Blazers as a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA draft, was also selected for the Rising Stars event, which will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with coverage beginning at 9 p.m. Friday on TNT.
Tshiebwe, who was not drafted last year, leads the G League with 12.6 rebounds per game, adding 12.2 points in just 22.5 minutes over 11 games in the developmental league. He’s spent much of the season with the Pacers, however, not getting much playing time at the top level but still making an impression on the franchise.
“Oscar’s a great story,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Tshiebwe’s selection for Friday’s game. “He’s a wonderful kid. Everybody in our entire organization just loves him. He’s just got such a warm personality. He’s always smiling. He’s always happy. He’s always talking about eating rebounds. Getting ready to eat rebounds. ‘Eat more rebounds.’ And he’s a machine. He’s a machine. So, it’s really cool.”
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