Cedi Osman in Rising Stars Game is bright spot in tough Cavs season

Cleveland Cavaliers sophomore wing Cedi Osman has been balling out as of late, and him being named to the World Team in the 2019 MTN Dew ICE Rising Stars Game at All-Star Weekend is a bright spot in a tough year for Cleveland.

Cedi Osman hasn’t had the easiest of seasons this year in his first season with consistent playing time for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he’s really been showing out lately, as KJG’s own Robbie DiPaola recently detailed. Osman has averaged 12.7 points on 52.8 percent true shooting, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 31.9 minutes per game in 2018-19, per Basketball Reference.

With his ability to fill it up at times this year and with his occasional highlight in transition, he was named to the World Team (for Macedonia/Turkey) yesterday at the 2019 MTN Dew ICE Rising Stars Game at the 2019 All-Star Weekend in Charlotte (h/t the Cleveland Cavaliers).

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That is pretty cool news for a Cleveland team that has not had many positives this year. Osman is clearly a fan favorite in Northeast Ohio, and seeing him show glimpses of what he can do in the near future for the Cavaliers will be exciting to watch on the All-Star Weekend national stage.

Yes, the Rising Stars Challenge is not exactly the most highly-competitive basketball game, but still, having #TheFirstCedi out there representing the Wine and Gold is a bright spot in what has been a dreadful season for Cavs fans overall.

Osman thanked his teammates for helping him get a chance to show off some of his game after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win yesterday over the Washington Wizards, per Fox Sports Ohio.

Osman’s trademark smile and boyish love for the game is something that any casual NBA fan, hardcore NBA fan, and sports fan in general can appreciate when watching him.

Him getting a little bit of time to shine on the national stage on All-Star Weekend is something Cleveland fans can bask in a little bit, knowing we’ve seen Osman produce more so than other fans, who might be asking “Who is that 16 kid on the Cavs?”

Well, 13-year-old Billy from Denver, that’s Cedi Osman. Google him, bro.

The other thing that jumped out to me from this is head coach Larry Drew‘s and Osman’s teammates, namely Jordan Clarkson‘s, reactions, when hearing about Osman getting selected to participate in All-Star Weekend festivities.

Here’s what Drew had to say about Osman, per the Cavs.

Agreed, Coach Drew. It is well deserved, and if Osman keeps trending the way he’s going recently, he could definitely a Cleveland Cavaliers’ cornerstone going forward, likely alongside Collin Sexton and Larry Nance Jr. The aforementioned Clarkson seemed really happy for Osman, and expressed how the young Team World wing should soak up all the weekend has to offer, per the Cavs.

Cedi is a fan favorite in Cleveland, and I would think with the way Osman plays, even though there’s mistakes, with plenty of the defensive end (as evidenced by his awful defensive rating), that his effort and energy all game has to uplift his teammates to some degree.

We’ll see how Cleveland’s number 16 does on the national stage. Either way, him being there should be fun to watch, anyhow.