Oscar Tshiebwe shatters Mad Ants rebounding record (shocker)
“Oscar Tshiebwe the best rebounder alive!!”
That’s been the opinion of most around Lexington. It’s now the opinion of NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, Tshiebwe’s new teammate within the Indiana Pacers organization.
His tweet came after the former Wildcat set the all-time rebounding record with the Indiana Mad Ants, the franchise’s G League affiliate. His performance? 20 points (8-13 FG), 28 rebounds and four assists.
For those keeping track at home, that’s also his Rupp Arena rebounding record. Now averaging 21.0 rebounds in his last four games, he’s just the fifth player to ever post 28+ boards in a game. That’s also the third-most in G League history.
His effort broke Rob Kurz’s 13-year single-game franchise record and also tied the single-game defensive rebound record with 20.
The funniest part of it all? Tshiebwe called his shot back in training camp.
“I’ll never forget he asked our GM so random one day at camp what the (G League) rebounding record was,” Pacers scout KJ Pritchard, son of team president Kevin Pritchard, tweeted. “When he was told, he started walking away and literally said ‘oh that will be easy.’”
That came after Tshiebwe made history the first time around, going for 33 points and 23 rebounds to open the season, the franchise’s first 30-20 game in history. He also became just the fifth player to have a double-double in their first game with the franchise.
A history of breaking records for Tshiebwe
The 6-9 center was a unanimous two-year All-American in Lexington and earned consensus National Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2021-22. He averaged a career-high 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per contest in year one, followed by 16.5 points and 13.7 rebounds per game as a senior. The former Wildcat would finish his career tied for second in career double-doubles with 48 and second in scoring over a two-year period (1,117 points) behind only Bill Spivey (1,213).
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft, Tshiebwe signed with the Pacers as an undrafted free agent, agreeing to a two-way contract with the franchise. That move allowed him to play 50 games with the Pacers in year one with no limit on practices, workouts and other activities while spending the rest of his time in the G League with the Mad Ants.
It hasn’t taken him long to make an early statement. The only question now: When will he get the permanent call-up to the league?
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard