Oscar Tshiebwe, TyTy Washington put up CRAZY numbers in head-to-head matchup
Oscar Tshiebwe and TyTy Washington were teammates at Kentucky during the 2021-22 season. A couple of years later, both are putting up insane numbers in the NBA’s G League.
Wednesday night was just another example.
Tshiebwe’s Indiana Mad Ants came up short against Washington’s Wisconsin Herd, losing 113-109, but the battle between former Wildcats was worth the price of admission no matter which team you were rooting for.
We’ll start with Tshiebwe, who continues to do exactly what he did during his two seasons in Lexington: grab any and every rebound available. The 6-foot-9 big man hauled in 26 rebounds (10 offensive) to go along with his 24 points (11-24 FG), this coming a week after he recorded 26 points and 26 rebounds. Tshiebwe already held the franchise single-season record for most rebounds and now has seven 20-point, 20-rebound games on the year to go along with his 25 double-doubles.
Currently on a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers, Tshiebwe has spent most of his rookie season with the Mad Ants in the G League but has appeared in eight NBA games with the Pacers throughout the 2023-24 campaign. In 21 G League games, Big O is averaging 15.7 points and 16.1 rebounds per outing — to the surprise of no one.
As for Washington on the winning side, he led all scorers with a game-high 37 points, five rebounds, and seven assists on 16-25 shooting, including a 5-8 clip from long range. It marked a season-high for Washington and his third 30-point game this season.
Now in his second season as a professional, Washington is on a two-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Like Tshiebwe, he’s only played a handful of games in the NBA (five), but he’s been a bright spot for the franchise’s G League program all season long. Through 24 games, the 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 21.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per contest while shooting 46.7 percent overall and a blistering 42.6 percent from deep on 6.5 attempts per outing.
After his performance on Wednesday night, Washington was asked about getting bumped up to the NBA full-time. While it would be a near-impossible task to replace eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard as the Bucks’ starting point guard — at least in the near future — he has clear goals of being Lillard’s backup next season and learning behind an all-time great.
“I want to stay in Milwaukee, keep learning from Dame, everybody up there,” Washington said, according to Ti Windisch. “Hopefully, when it’s my time, I want to be that backup point guard for us next season.”
Keep scoring 30-plus and shooting over 40 percent from deep, and that could easily be the reality in 2024-25.
But wait! There’s more!
Teaming up alongside Washington for the Herd were another pair of one-time ‘Cats. First up, rookie Chris Livingston had himself an impressive game, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds on 6-12 shooting in 24 minutes. He’s appeared in 17 NBA games this season for the Bucks and 14 in the G League.
Meanwhile, Wenyen Gabriel, who has been in and out of the NBA since leaving Kentucky in 2018, was even more impressive for the Herd: 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and five blocks in a team-high 37 minutes. Gabriel shot 7-12 from the field in the win.
Check out the full game highlights below.
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