Kentucky twice The Utah Jazz announced on Monday that Oscar Tshiebwe, an All-American and past national player of the year, has agreed to a two-way contract.
During the course of five games with the Indiana Pacers last month in NBA Summer League competition in Las Vegas, Tshiebwe averaged 11.6 points on 61% shooting from the field, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.
Tshiebwe played in both the NBA and the G League during the previous season thanks to a two-way contract he had with the Pacers. In eight NBA games, he played 5.3 minutes a game and averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds.
Tshiebwe, who played for the Indiana Mad Ants, averaged 16.2 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.2 minutes per game while playing in 23 regular season games with 21 starts. He was also named Kia NBA G League Rookie of the Year and All-NBA G League First Team. In addition to eight games with 20 or more rebounds, seven games with 20 points and 20 rebounds, and 27 double-doubles were his stats. He finished the season as the NBA G League rebounding champion and set a new league single season rebound record (16.2), setting new franchise records for total rebounds (530), defensive rebounds (330), and offensive rebounds (200).
Tshiebwe made his G League debut in the Mad Ants’ 129-114 victory over the Sioux Falls Sky Force, finishing with 33 points and 23 rebounds. He also became the first player in franchise history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound performance. Along with that, he broke the franchise record for rebounds with 28, helping Indiana defeat the Motor City Cruise 117-107.
)
Tshiebwe was selected for both the NBA G League Next Up Game and the NBA Rising Stars Game.
Tshiebwe, who is ranked in the top 50 in points (1,117), top 25 in blocks (87), top 30 in thefts (112), and top 10 in rebounds (952), it’s difficult to think of a Kentucky player who did more individually or won over Big Blue Nation over the course of two seasons.
Tshiebwe averaged 16.9 points and 14.4 rebounds in 66 games during his two seasons as a Wildcat, becoming just the ninth player in Kentucky history to be named a consensus All-American twice, and the first since Kenny Walker in 1985 and 1986. His 1,117 points rank second in program history for points by a transfer behind only Kyle Macy (1,411) and are the second-highest individual total over any two-year timeframe in school history behind only Bill Spivey (1,213). He leads in rebounds with 952.
Tshiebwe recorded eight games with 20 rebounds, although since the 1970–71 season, the total for all UK players has been seven. Last season, he had the most rebounds of any Wildcat since Mike Phillips in 1976 with 28 against Western Kentucky. This season, he scored 25 points in an NCAA Tournament game against Providence in the first round, which was a record since 1977.
Tshiebwe finished the season with three 20-20 games, and his career-high 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia was just the school’s fifth 35-20 game overall and the first by a Wildcat since 1976.
Tshiebwe averaged 21 points and 19.6 rebounds per game across his three NCAA Tournament games. He finished with 63 points and 59 rebounds.
After averaging 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds in 2021–22, Tshiebwe joined Anthony Davis as the school’s second unanimous national player of the year. Tshiebwe also became the first NCAA Division I player to average 15 points and 15 rebounds in 42 years.
