The Indiana Pacers are heading into the 2025 offseason with a big question mark—Tyrese Haliburton is out indefinitely with an injury. That’s left the team scrambling to find someone who can step up at point guard. The Summer league gives Indiana a chance to find a perfect replacement. One name turning heads? Former Nebraska star Keisei Tominaga. Let’s take a deep dive into his background.
Who Is Keisei Tominaga?
Keisei Tominaga is a Japanese basketball phenom with one of the smoothest shooting strokes you’ll find anywhere in the game. Born on February 1, 2001, in Nagoya, Japan, the 6-foot-2, 178-pound guard is best known for his scoring flair and signature three-point range, which earned him the nickname “Japanese Steph Curry.” After a remarkable collegiate career with Nebraska, Tominaga now finds himself on the cusp of an NBA breakthrough. He spent his first professional season with the Indiana Mad Ants in the NBA G League, where he averaged 4.8 points in 7.8 minutes over 13 games, and is currently suiting up for the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Summer League. At just 24, he’s already represented Japan at the Olympics, competed in the FIBA World Cup, and captured hearts on both sides of the Pacific with his fearless, high-energy game.
Keisei Tominaga’s College Basketball Journey
Tominaga’s American basketball journey began in 2019 at Ranger College in Texas. He arrived with a jet-lagged body but an eager mind, hitting back-to-back deep threes during his first open gym session. As a freshman in 2019-20, he teamed up with Coach Billy Gillespie, firing at will 16.8 points per game on a scorching 55% shooting as Ranger rolled to a 28-3 record before COVID-19 shut things down. But that was just the beginning. The next year, under Coach Larry Brown, Tominaga upped his game even more. He averaged 16.3 points, earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors, and shot nearly 49% from deep — all while leading Ranger to the national semifinals in 2021. His big moments? A 39-point night with a school-record 11 threes and a 26-point show in the national semis. In two seasons, he piled up 50 wins, 21 double-figure scoring games in his sophomore year alone, and a bunch of clutch performances that turned heads. Ranger was his launchpad, and Tominaga made sure to leave his mark.
In his junior year at Nebraska (2022-23), Tominaga averaged 13.1 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and 40% from deep. He hit 66 threes that season, ranking eighth in the Big Ten, and earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. In his senior season (2023-24), he started all 32 games and upped his scoring to 15.1 points per game while shooting 46.6% from the field and 37.6% from three. He was named Second-Team All-Big Ten by coaches. He led Nebraska to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade and wrapped his college career by winning the 2024 NCAA 3-Point Contest. In total, he averaged 11.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game across three seasons with the Cornhuskers. Keisei Tominaga spent three seasons lighting it up at Nebraska. Though his first year showed glimpses, it was in his second season that things truly took off. He went on a tear with five straight games scoring 20 or more points—the longest such streak by a Husker since Tyronn Lue did it back in 1998.
