Game 5Ā of the NBA Finals was over a month ago but the NBA continued to dominate headlines with its free agent signings and the Summer League. Although you canāt dissect and extract too much from Summer League performances and outcomes, it gives us a glimpse of some of the young talent that could ultimately be the faces of the Association down the road. The 2017 rookie class impressed in Orlando, Utah, and Las Vegas and lured many fans to their televisions.
In fact, the NBA Summer League experienced an all-time high in terms of viewership that had a lot to do with the Big Baller Brand effect. According to Awful Announcing, on Lonzo Ballās debut on July 7 against the Ā L.A. Clippers, ESPN drew 879,000 viewers to set an all-time record for the most-viewed Summer League game. The record didnāt last long as Ball, the second pick of the 2017 NBA Draft matched up against the third pick, Jayson Tatum, of the Boston Celtics the next night. That game drew 1.106 million viewers and was the first sold out game in Summer League history.
But Ball and Tatum weren't the only ones who were balling out in the Summer League. There were several second- and third-year players that stood out as well. Here nine guys who caught our attention over the past three weeks.Ā
Luke Kennard
Team: Thunder
League: Orlando
Stats:Ā 18.0 PPG, 56.9 FG %, 5.5 RPG
Thunder goes to 2-0 in Summer League taking Knicks 99-87
-Huestis 26p/7r
-Johnson 21p/7r
-Brown 20p
-Hamilton 9a pic.twitter.com/UJN7tOMUYt
ā OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 3, 2017
Remember the Kentucky team that was on the brink of completing a perfect 40-0 season? Dakari Johnson was a key rotational player on that team and we havenāt heard much from him since then. Two years later, he still hasn't made his NBA debut. After being selected in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Thunder, Johnson has spent all of his pro career in the D-League, which is now the G-League. Johnson improved his chances of finally getting a shot by dominating Summer League competition this year. Averaging an efficient 18.0 points per game, the Brooklyn native showcased an array of moves whether it was in the post or off the dribble. The competition may have been too easy for him as we saw Johnson play point guard several times during the Summer League. Yes, a 7', 265-pound guy was running point guard and it wasnāt garbage time either. Raymond Felton, you may a little competition for that backup spot in Oklahoma City.
Team: Jazz
Stats: 28.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.0 SPG (Vegas)
15.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 SPG (Utah)
Itās early but Donovan Mitchell could end up being the steal of this yearās draft. Heās a great wing defender with freakish athleticism and silky smooth jumper. Heās certainly a nice start to soothe the pain of fans this offseason in the post-Hayward era. His Summer League was highlighted by a 37-point, eight steal performance. He had all eight steals before the fourth quarter.
Donovan Mitchell has recorded 8 steals in two and a half quarters.
Wow.#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/LBb81i3EbX
ā NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2017
Even with Hayward gone, the Jazz still have a lot of young pieces to build off of and Mitchell could possibly contribute early as a three and D guy. I mean, who wouldnāt want a rookie that can do this?Ā
Donovan Mitchell put Jayson Tatum through the spin cycle. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/r2qMlB2hxK
ā SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 7, 2017
Bam Adebayo
Team: Heat
Stats: 17.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG (Orlando)
15.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 43.3 FG % (Vegas)
Set screens, catch lobs, and play defense. That pretty much sums Bam Adebayoās role at Kentucky. Playing with other lottery picks in DeāAaron Fox and Malik Monk, Kentucky coach JohnĀ Calipari didnāt need Adebayo to create on his own. Although he flashed his mid-range game at times, the majority of his made baskets came from point blank range usually resulting in vicious rim rockers. The Summer League gave us a chance Adebayo as the focal point of the offense.
Letās just say we saw some plays that werenāt documented in Adebayoās repertoire. Although he was inefficient at times, which is common for a rookie, Adebayo put up some big numbers in Orlando and Las Vegas. His former head coach took notice.
It's official: I held @Bam1of1 back!
29 pts and 11 rebs yesterday. He joins a long list of players who I stymied. LOL. Proud of you Bamš„!!
ā John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 4, 2017
Wayne Selden
Cheick Diallo
Dennis Smith Jr.
Team: Mavericks
League: Las Vegas
Stats:Ā 17.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.3 APG
You can already hear the groans from the Knicksā fanbase every time a Dennis Smith Jr. highlight goes viral. To be fair itās summer league and we havenāt seen their draft pick Frank Ntilikina yet, who could end up being a better fit in that organization but Smith Jr. is trending toward one of those guys the Knicks shouldnāt have passed on.
From his pregame dunks in layup lines...
š @Dennis1SmithJr pic.twitter.com/A2A5A5BN0l
ā Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 8, 2017
To his acrobatic finishes in the paint, Smith was the most exciting player in the Summer League. Even his missed dunks were impressive...
Miss an angle? Here's all of 'em š± pic.twitter.com/VasV0NawbL
ā Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 14, 2017
His 48-inch vertical was on full display for the past two weeks. Fayettevilleās finest was virtually unguardable in the open court. Donāt forget that Smith was crowned as the top point guard in the 2016 high school recruiting class before his ACL injury. The kid has serious potential. Ā