Former New Zealand Breakers Next Star Ousmane Dieng has made a strong statement to close the NBA season, going close to a triple-double while representing the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dieng registered 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in 45 minutes of action, boasting NBA career-high numbers across the board in an impressive display. 

The 19-year-old was the 11th overall pick at the 2022 NBA Draft, having plied his trade with the Breakers across the previous season.

He has played 39 games for the Thunder this year, and 20 with its G-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. 

Dieng's rise continues the incredible success of the NBL's Next Stars program, joining Brian Bowen Jr, Didi Louzada, LaMelo Ball, RJ Hampton and Josh Giddey as players to have graduated from the program to the NBA.

NBL23 Next Star Rayan Rupert is tipped to be selected in the first round of this year's NBA Draft.

German centre Ariel Hukporti has already committed to the Next Stars program for the 2023/2024 season at Melbourne United, as he makes his return from an achilles injury. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ousmane Dieng ! <br><br>17 PTS <br>6 REB <br>9 AST<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA360?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA360</a> <a href="https://t.co/5TaQSQKwWh">pic.twitter.com/5TaQSQKwWh</a></p>&mdash; NBA France (@NBAFRANCE) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFRANCE/status/1645176841299464193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>