UConn’s Amida Brimah makes NBA debut with Indiana Pacers
After four years in the G-League, former UConn center Amida Brimah finally made his NBA debut.
The 7-foot-1 Brimah signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and got his first NBA minutes Sunday in a 131-112 victory at Orlando. In his 5.2 minutes, he attempted a shot and recorded a block.
“I’m extremely proud and excited for him. He was probably one of the top two or three hardest workers I’ve ever coached in my life, so I’m not surprised at all that he’s gotten to where he’s gotten to,” said Juan Hernandez, Brimah’s coach at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High in Miami. “I think it obviously took him a little bit longer than he thought and than everyone else thought, but now that he’s there I think he’s going to make the best of the opportunity. He’s a tremendous kid and I wish him nothing but the best.”
The Accra, Ghana, native spent the 2020 season with the Pacers’ G-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, where he averaged eight points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 10 games. He was twice named to the G-League All-Defensive Team.
After his four-year career with UConn, Brimah went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft. Before Sunday, his only NBA experience came from previous preseason games and training camps with the San Antonio Spurs and Pacers. Brimah was always waived before regular-season games and
has spent the past four years playing in summer leagues for various teams across the league.
His commitment to his dreams of playing professionally is something he’s had since first moving to America in high school.
“He’s definitely the most driven player that I’ve ever coached as far as his goals and his focus,” Hernandez said. “When he came over here from Africa, he only had one thing on his mind. He was going to reach his
goals, one way or the other, whether it took five years or 10 years. He’s extremely, extremely driven, so this doesn’t surprise me one bit. At no point would I ever think that he would give up the game or anything like that just because it was taking (too) long.”
At UConn, Brimah played in 133 games and helped lead the Huskies to their 2014 national title. He finished his college career averaging 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting a programrecord 63.7% from the field for his career. As a sophomore, he set the UConn field goal percentage record by shooting 67.4% and was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 201415.
Brimah led the Huskies in blocks all four years and ranks third on the program’s all-time list with 367 career blocks. But most remember him as the player who forced overtime with a three-point play in the final minute of UConn’s first-round game against No. 10 seed Saint Joseph’s in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, which ultimately paved the way for the Huskies’ national title run.