Syracuse Basketball: Oshae Brissett will feel at home with LA Clippers

How Oshae Brissett can go from lacing ’em up next to Burlington’s Mfiondu Kabengele in Vegas to playing alongside Toronto’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in LA.

Since the inception of the ‘two-round NBA Draft’ 30 years ago, 31 Canadian players have heard their name called during the annual event.

The last 10 draft nights have included at least one player from north of the border. On June 20, a record six Canadian players heard their name called:

• No. 3 R.J. Barrett (Mississauga, ON)
• No. 17 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Toronto, ON)
• No. 21 Brandon Clarke (Vancouver, BC)
• No. 27 Mfiondu Kabengele  Burlington, ON)
• No. 47 Ignas Brazdeikis  Oakville, ON)
• No. 54 Marial Shayok (Ottawa, ON)

Four-and-a-half hours after New Orleans made Zion Williamson a Pelican with the first overall pick, a handful of Canadian-bred talents found new homes, and Sacramento made Vanja Marinkovic a King with the 60th pick, a flock of undrafted NBA hopefuls including Oshae Brissett remained.

From recent champion Toronto to league-worst New York, no team was willing to use their selection(s) on Syracuse basketball’s, and one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most prized spark plugs since 2017.

Oshae Brissett ended his Thursday night as an undrafted free agent and woke up a member of the Los Angeles Clippers’ Summer League roster.

Brissett came back to Syracuse after a promising freshman season in order to further develop his game before going pro. Following an up-and-down sophomore season, Brissett kept his name in the draft, proved he could handle basketball at the next level during in Chicago during the G League Elite Camp, and had one goal for his future: to join an NBA roster.

Less than 12 hours after hearing the supposed 60 best players find new homes in the NBA, Brissett found his with the Clippers, a team that recognized his untapped potential as a versatile forward who can stabilize their shallow rotation in the frontcourt.

In less than a week, the crafty Canadian will lace ’em up next to former Florida State Seminole and Burlington Ontario native Mfiondu Kabengele, the 2019 draft’s 27th overall selection, in Las Vegas in early July. The two grew up just 40 minutes apart and spent the last two years battling each other in the ACC.

The road to Summer League play was different for Brissett than it was for Kabengele, but his newfound opportunity puts him on an equal playing field. Come July 5, Brissett will leave it all on the floor, and if all goes right, may end up sticking with the Clippers for more than just the summer, and pick up a second Canadian teammate in the process: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Gilgeous-Alexander, a 6-foot-6 point guard who helped anchor the Clippers’ unprecedented 2019 playoff berth and an unheralded two road wins over Golden State in round one, helped a 6-foot-8 Montrezl Harrell develop from an above average role player to a fringe All-Star and Sixth Man of the Year candidate over the course of his rookie season.

Brissett, a 6-foot-8 forward with plenty of room for development, could carve out a reputable role with Los Angeles as a spark off the bench if he allows the young talent around him bring out the best in him during his limited action this summer, and during what could potentially come after it.

Brissett bet on himself when keeping his name in the draft. He will do the same when he takes the floor in less than a week. Depending on how he performs, Brissett may just end up sticking with the Clippers for longer than most expected and make an already Canadian team even more Canadian.