Oscar Tshiebwe among 3 former Wildcats named to G League "Up Next Game" at All-Star weekend
As has been the case for over a decade now, the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend will be filled with former Kentucky Wildcats. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was already named a starter for the upcoming All-Star Game — set for Sunday, Feb. 18 in Indianapolis — and he’ll likely be accompanied by a few more UK alums when the reserves are announced later this week.
But they won’t be the only players representing the blue and white throughout All-Star weekend. In the leadup to Sunday’s main event, a handful of former ‘Cats will take the stage in Indy for the G League’s “Up Next Game”.
Most notably, in just his rookie season, Oscar Tshiebwe of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants was selected to the 28-player pool. He’ll be joined by two other one-time Kentucky players, Ashton Hagans of the Rip City Remix and Skal Labissiere of the Stockton Kings.
Hagans and Labissiere were actually the top two most-voted players, respectively, by the G League fans. With the Up Next Game being held in Indy, Tshiebwe was selected as the host city’s lone representative.
All three of Hagans, Labissiere, and Tshiebwe are enjoying successful G League seasons halfway through the 2023-24 campaign.
Suiting up for the Remix (8-4), Hagans is posting per-game averages of 15.1 points, 9.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 30.9 minutes. He’s hitting 42.3 percent of his overall shots, including a 34.2 percent clip from deep and an 82.1 percent mark from the free throw line. Hagans spent two seasons at Kentucky (2018-20), making SEC All-Defensive Teams in both. He went unselected in the 2020 NBA Draft and has spent most of the time since in the G League outside of a brief stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As for Labissiere, the Kings’ (9-4) big man is averaging 16.8 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and 1.7 blocks in 29.1 minutes per outing. He’s shooting an efficient 66.4 percent from the floor with four double-doubles on the season. Labissiere was in Lexington for one forgettable season (2015-16) before getting picked 28th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He’s played 148 total games in the NBA so far but has also bounced around in the G League and other leagues in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Finally, Tshiebwe is getting his first taste of professional basketball this season. Signed to a two-way contract after going undrafted in 2023, he’s been moved up and down between the Mad Ants and the Indiana Pacers but has still appeared in (and started) nine games at the G League level. Tshiebwe is averaging 12.1 points and 12.2 rebounds (of course) per game while shooting 60.3 percent overall. We all know what he did at Kentucky, too.
John Calipari’s success rate of developing professional ball players is higher than most (if not all), but even the guys who don’t immediately stick in the NBA still find ways to make an impact on the hardwood.
If you want to catch Hagans, Labissiere, and Tshiebwe in action at All-Star Weekend, you can watch the Up Next Game on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1:30 p.m. EST on NBA TV.
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