Tom Crean: 'It is just awesome' to see Thomas Bryant, OG Anunoby square off with spot in NBA Finals on the line

Wednesday night brings together former teammates and a major flavor of the Indiana basketball program. When the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks take the floor tonight, it’ll be OG Anunoby and Thomas Bryant who will be battling it out for a chance at the NBA Finals.
Former teammates at Indiana from 2015 to 2017, and part of the same recruiting class, Anunoby and Bryant were vital pieces to a Sweet Sixteen appearance, and a ranking as high as No. 3 in the country while playing under head coach Tom Crean.
In total, they combined to help Indiana to a 45-24 record. Now, just four wins stand between both players and an appearance in the NBA Finals.
“To see Thomas and OG meeting at this point in the season with a trip to the Finals on the line is incredible,” former Indiana basketball head coach Tom Crean told TheHoosier.com. “They both have NBA Championship rings but with the chance to impact the series for their respective teams and with the roles they have — it is just awesome.”
While both have had the chance to earn a championship before — Bryant with the Nuggets in 2023 and Anunoby with Raptors in 2019 — neither played a significant role on those teams during their playoff runs. Bryant appeared in just one postseason game and Anunoby missed the Raptors championship run after an emergency appendectomy kept him out of the postseason.
This year, it’s different. Anunoby is fresh off of signing the largest contract in New York Knicks’ history and is averaging 18.0 points and 4.8 rebounds a game this season while shooting 37.2 percent from three. His 18 points a game are a career high. In 12 postseason games, he’s averaging 15.8 points and shooting 36.3 percent from three.
For Bryant, after joining the Pacers midyear, he’s found himself in a nice rotational role. He’s averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds a game. He’s coming off of his best performance of the playoffs, however, with nine points — all in the third quarter in the closeout game five agains the Cavaliers.
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“Thomas Bryant, in the second half, gave us some of the greatest minutes you can ask of a backup center,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. “He ran. He rebounded. The three in the right corner was enormous during a run where we were starting to get into their legs a little big. His enthusiasm — it just permeates our team.”
This is the second-straight year the Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference Finals, following a 2024 postseason when they knocked off the Knicks in the semis.
“Both of them are incredible people who’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point,” Crean added. “I can’t wait to watch them in this series.”
For Crean, it’s a win-win in many scenarios as star guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, is in the Western Conference Finals as well — whom he coached for one season at Georgia.
Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals takes place in New York on Wednesday night at 8:00 pm ET on TNT.
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