G League Bubble Star Oshae Brissett Has Heroic NBA Moment
Oshae Brissett has gone from G League Most Improved Player candidate to NBA play-in tournament hero following a defiant 23 point performance for the Pacers.
It’s not how you start, but how you finish. Given his progressive prowess this season, there’s arguably no one that takes more pride in such a mantra more than Oshae Brissett.
After earning that coveted NBA Call-Up from the Pacers in April, the swingman averaged 3.2 points in just 5 minutes through his first five games with the team, only to follow up with a string of double-digit scoring performances in 10 of his next 11 games. After playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League bubble just weeks prior, Brissett had proven he was ripe and ready to go at the next level.
From there on out, he’s only gotten better. The 22 year old scored a career-high 31 points in a win against his former team — the Raptors — on May 16, to go along with 10 rebounds. It was a monster outing, but Brissett had yet another level of the clutch gene to activate on deck.
Pacers fans didn’t have to wait very long to witness such an upgrade. With the team set to compete in the NBA’s first play-in tournament to secure a postseason spot, they did so without Caris LeVert, Jeremy Lamb, Myles Turner, and T.J. Warren. That’s a steep order of business under incredibly high pressure, but it all amounted to Brissett rising up for a heroic moment those in Indiana are unlikely to ever forget.
Brissett led all scorers with 23 points in the Pacers’ commanding 144-117 win over the Hornets. He was clutch. He was poised. He looked like he belonged, despite donning a minor league jersey less than three months ago. Now his NBA team is on the cusp of reaching the postseason and has him largely to thank.
The short turnaround time is amazing to consider, but Brissett has more than earned his chance to shine. In recent years, the NBA stage has played host to a number of G League alums thrusting themselves into national spotlight thanks to big time playoff moments. In 2013, Danny Green set a then-NBA Finals record for three-point field goals. In 2019, the sharpshooting Green teamed up with 2017 G League champions Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet to lead the Raptors to the franchise’s first title. Just last season, Alex Caruso started game six of the NBA Finals alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the Lakers took home the trophy.
It may be “just” a play-in tournament, but Brissett has seemingly followed suit.
It’s not surprising to see him build off of exciting momentum. This is exactly what he did for Fort Wayne earlier in the campaign. By demonstrating his strength as a physical force (one that can clearly assert himself not just in the G League, but in the NBA as well), the young gun earned recognition here as the Most Improved Player, and finished in the top three of the league’s official voting for the award as well.
After scoring 20 points just once in his first five appearances, Brissett went on to tally at least 20 points in six of his next seven outings in the bubble, a streak of which that also included four double-doubles. As Brissett chugged along, so did the Mad Ants. He was the team’s engine. After starting the season 1-5, they finished 5-4 thereafter, riding Brissett’s wave of success all the way through.
It’s clear he’s not done soaring yet, and this time, it’s the Pacers who stand to continue reaping the benefits.