Featuring a whopping 67 games crammed into a 10-day schedule, the NBA’s annual circus known as the Summer League in Las Vegas gave hoop fans a near-overdose of basketball.
The action came to an end Monday night when the Los Angeles Lakers (sans second overall pick Lonzo Ball) defeated the Portland Trail Blazers to take home the championship.
With plenty to absorb and a host of future stars setting the stage for the season to come and beyond, here are five things we learned from the 2017 Summer League:
LONZO BALL IS ALREADY A STAR
Given the hype surrounding Ball— brought upon in part by his unique style of play and an outstanding freshman season at UCLA, but also due to the insufferable PR machine that is his father, LaVar— it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Ball’s psuedo NBA debut was going to be front and centre at Summer League this year. Lakers games were the best-attended at the annual tournament in Las Vegas, as fans packed the Cox Pavillion bleachers to see whether or not Ball could possibly live up to the lofty expectations set upon him.
His first game was worrisome and featured a 1-of-11 shooting performance from deep. But after that? Ball showed why he was in the debate for top player in the 2017 draft class. In his second game he posted a triple-double and would go on to record one more at Summer League, along with four double-doubles.
Above all, we learned that, at worst, Ball will be a very fun player to watch. His style is absolutely unique and while he struggled shooting the ball (23.8 per cent from deep) it’s clear that he is already an elite-level passer.
Despite missing two games— including Monday night’s championship— Ball was named Summer League MVP after posting averages of 16 points, 9.3 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and one block per game.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
After the departures of Cory Joseph, P.J. Tucker, Patrick Patterson, and DeMarre Carroll, it’s no secret that the Toronto Raptors will enter the 2017-18 season relying heavily on their young players to take a step forward and make an impact on the second unit. And while the likes of Delon Wright and Norman Powell didn’t take part in Summer League this season, a trio of 2016-17 rookies who split time between Raptors 905 and the big club were impressive in Vegas.
Forward Pascal Siakam was a wrecking ball during round robin play, scoring 18 points per game and remaining incredibly active on defence— even showing an ability to step out to the perimeter to guard opposing wings. He had a disappointing showing once the knockout stage began, but he at least proved that he is a top-level player among Summer League talent, and it’ll be interesting to see whether he’s able to make the leap and make a similar impact against NBA-calibre talent next season.
Jakob Poeltl, who will likely see the biggest promotion next season among the Summer League group as potentially the first big off Dwane Casey’s bench, was rock solid in Vegas. He showed really nice touch around the basket and shot an absurd 70 per cent from the floor. Poeltl saw his blocks per game drop from two at Summer League last year to just 0.5 this time around, but he has the footwork and mobility to be a solid defender down low. Perhaps most promising was the aggression he showed as he was assertive once he got the ball and was able to make quick decisions on offence. This stands to be an important campaign for Poeltl, and the Summer League was a nice showing as a prelude to what could come in the NBA in the immediate future.
Lastly, point guard Fred VanVleet was great throughout Summer League, vacillating between setting his teammates up and carrying a scoring load based on how opponents were defending the Raptors. His 31-point performance in Toronto’s final game was particularly impressive and featured an array of tough drives to the net and a steady three-point shot. VanVleet enters the season as the Raps’ clear-cut third-string point guard but could even challenge Delon Wright for minutes if he continues to play like he did in Vegas.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, PT. 2
If Summer League is any indication (in fairness, those six words can often be a red flag), the 2017 draft may prove to be a generation-defining group of talent.
Take a scan at the five players named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team and you’ll find a versatile group of first-round picks set to make noise at the next level: Ball (second overall), Phoenix’s Josh Jackson (fourth), Dallas’s Dennis Smith Jr. (ninth), Atlanta’s John Collins (19th), and Portland’s Caleb Swanigan (26th).
We’ve already discussed Ball, but Jackson is as-advertised as a high-level defender and impressive playmaker for a forward (and, incredibly, he’ll wear no. 99 next season. So there’s that). Smith Jr. looks to be on track as one of the NBA’s premier highlight-reel finishers, while both Collins and Swanigan proved that this year’s crop truly was the deepest talent pool in years.
Throw in an impressive all-around scorer in Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum, the lightning-quick D’Aaron Fox of Sacramento, Lakers stretch forward Kyle Kuzma (the Finals MVP), Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (more on him in a moment), and what we briefly saw from first overall pick Markelle Fultz before he rolled his ankle and there is a lot to be excited about for this year’s freshmen.
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STEAL OF THE DRAFT?
As outstanding as the names listed above are, there’s a real chance that Mitchell, the 12th overall pick, may prove to be the steal of the draft. Traded on draft night from Denver for a package centred around Canadian forward Trey Lyles, Mitchell is the reason why basketball fans in Utah will be able to hold their heads high even after losing all-star forward Gordon Hayward this off-season.
Between Las Vegas and the Utah Summer League held the week prior, the six-foot-three combo guard out of Louisville showed a well-rounded offensive game but truly shone on the defensive end of the floor. All told, he averaged 20.5 points and a stunning 4.4 steals per game. He recorded six steals per in Vegas alone, and also tied a record with eight steals in a single game.
THE WARRIORS KEEP WINNING
Ok, so maybe not in the literal sense when it comes to Summer League— Golden State was 2-4 in Las Vegas— but the Warriors showed that beyond their star-studded nucleus there is plenty of talent in the pipeline. Second-year guard Patrick McCaw was a revelation in the NBA Finals a couple months back, playing meaningful minutes and making an impact in the Dubs’ title-clinching Game 5 versus Cleveland, and he continued to put his talents on display at Summer League.
McCaw averaged 20 points per game and looked in total command of his game throughout his Vegas tenure. Throw in rookie big man Jordan Bell out of Oregon, whom the Warriors bought for cash from the Bulls on draft night, and his 2.6 blocks per game, and Golden State appears to have role players locked in under cheap rookie deals who can step onto an NBA floor and contribute.
