From College Park to the NBA Finals: Tony Bradley Establishes Himself in the NBA Through Valuable NBA G League Experience

By: Justin Lloyd, 2025 Sekou Smith Summer League Experience Intern

Four months ago, Tony Bradley was suiting up for his final NBA G League game with the College Park Skyhawks, but by the end of the season, he found himself on basketball’s biggest stage—playing in the NBA Finals with the Indiana Pacers.   

It’s been an unorthodox journey for Bradley, who was selected with the 28^th pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and later traded on draft night to the Utah Jazz. Between 2017 and 2023, Bradley played for four different teams, participating in 179 games and averaging 4.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.  

After moving around the league, Bradley spent the 2023-24 season grinding in the G League, where he had the opportunity to showcase how far he’d come as a player. In 17 games with the Texas Legends, he averaged 14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. 

The following season, he seized another opportunity with the College Park Skyhawks to display his talents and enhance his skills in the G. Through 12 regular season games, he averaged 16.8 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting an impressive .700% from the field, which ranked second in the league at the time. 

Skyhawks head coach Steve Klei was a video analyst for the Jazz when they drafted Bradley back in 2017. He noted the strides that Bradley made in his health, defense, and efficiency throughout last season. 

“When you watch Tony in the G League now, you see a guy who’s played six years in the NBA,” Klei said. “He knows how to use his body. He knows how he needs to space. He knows how he needs to play off his teammates in order to be the most effective and efficient player, and I think he took steps forward in all those areas.” 

His play in the G League earned him his next opportunity in the NBA in March when he signed a 10-day contract with the Indiana Pacers, followed by a second 10-day, and then a multi-year contract on Mar. 23 with Indiana, a team looking to build on their Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the 2024 playoffs.  

“We valued Tony so much here in College Park, and he was a big part of our success. To see him get rewarded for that is what this is all about,” Klei said. “It’s the reason why we’re doing all this—to help guys.”

Bradley appeared in 14 games during the regular season with the Pacers, averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game. The team won 15 of their last 20 regular season games to secure the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the final game of the regular season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bradley delivered his best performance of the year, recording a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double.  

This marks the third time Bradley has experienced the postseason in his NBA career, and as the team advanced deeper into the Eastern Conference gauntlet, Bradley saw an increase in his minutes. In the Eastern Conference Finals, he averaged 9.6 minutes per game in a competitive series. 

The Pacers would ultimately find themselves playing in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that Bradley knows well. In the 2021-22 season, he played 22 games with the Thunder, where he achieved career-high averages in minutes (18.0), points (8.7), and rebounds (6.1). Bradley also witnessed the rise of the 2024-25 Kia MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the potential of head coach Mark Daigneault.  

In Game 5, Bradley made his NBA Finals debut, becoming the second Skyhawk to compete in the Finals, joining AJ Lawson, who played in two games of last year’s Finals with the Dallas Mavericks. He logged 12 minutes, tallying four points and four rebounds. 

“Sometimes you get these call-ups, and you don’t really get an opportunity to impact the team. To see Tony get real minutes in the regular season, get real minutes in the NBA Playoffs and even the Finals, it’s pretty special,” said Klei. 

Bradley, who is no stranger to banner hunting, won a National Championship as a freshman at North Carolina in 2017. He was one win away from becoming the first Skyhawk in franchise history to capture a championship ring, a prize justly fitting the conclusion of his season and career journey in the NBA. 

Unfortunately for Bradley and the Pacers, they fell short of their goal to win an NBA title after a heartbreaking loss in Game 7. However, while this chapter in Bradley’s career may be over, his story is far from finished.