Former Indiana Hoosier Thomas Bryant was traded to the Indiana Pacers by the Miami Heat in late December. To that point, Bryant had only appeared in ten games with the Heat, in a newly-crowded front court that features another former Hoosier, Kel’el Ware. The Pacers lost centers James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson to Achilles tears earlier this season, making Indiana the ideal landing spot for Bryant to prove he can still be a productive NBA starter.
When he has been given starting minutes in the past, Bryant has shined. As the primary starting center in Washington from 2018 to 2021, Bryant averaged over 10 points per game for three straight seasons. The 2020-21 season was shaping up to be the best of Bryant’s career, with him averaging 14.3 points per game over the first 10 games, but a torn ACL cut his season short. Upon return from injury, he started fewer games for the Wizards before being traded to the Lakers in 2022.
As a Laker, Bryant started 25 games in the 2022-23 season and matched his career high with 31 points in a game against the Trailblazers. He averaged 12.1 points in 21.4 minutes per game that season – the last time in his career that he averaged more than 10 points or 20 minutes per game for a season. Coming off a productive season, Bryant struggled to find minutes behind DeAndre Jordan and Nikola Jokic when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets. He got a ring there, but has struggled to find starting minutes since being traded from Los Angeles.
Over the last two seasons and change with Miami and Denver, Bryant had started just five games. In just two months with the Pacers, he’s already started twice. Even when he’s not in the starting lineup for the Pacers, Bryant is seeing more playing time and producing accordingly. He’s already appeared in more than double the number of games with the Pacers as he had with the Heat and is seeing three minutes more per game. He’s also scoring exactly three more points per game.
His best performance with the Pacers this year came in an early January game against the Chicago Bulls, when he scored 22 points and went 2-4 from 3-point range in a 129-1113 Indiana victory. In just two months with the Pacers, he’s scored over 10 points per game five times after failing to do so at all with Miami. There’s still some season left to play, but right now the trade with Miami is appearing to work out great for both the Pacers and Bryant.
Former Indiana Hoosier Thomas Bryant was traded to the Indiana Pacers by the Miami Heat in late December. To that point,
