1) Houston won the draft
When draft night arrived, it was widely understood that the Atlanta Hawks, in possession of the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1975, would select Zaccharie Risacher, anointing him as the Draft’s second annual French Bean Stick King. . Risacher, however, It’s not Victor Wembanyama. And just because the choice was widely predicted doesn’t mean it was widely agreed upon. Various recruitment boards (including Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor) had Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, a guard who ended up in Houston with the third overall pick, as their pick for the top prospect, and his time in Las Vegas showed why they appeared to be correct. Sheppard, while slightly undersized at 6-foot-2, was extremely impressive in his minutes in Sin City: a sharpshooter with an extremely high basketball IQ for his age, he looked positively comfortable in his first NBA minutes. By the end of the week, executives from the Wizards (who selected Alex Sarr at No. 2) and Hawks were quietly doing some damage control, explaining behind the scenes why they ignored him.
2) The Nuggets are in trouble
One of the stories of the summer so far has been less of a story and more of a question: “What the hell are the Denver Nuggets doing?” Piece by piece, they have been passively dismantling their championship roster, losing Bruce Brown in free agency last offseason and doing the same this summer with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both key pieces in what has been a world-class rotation. Not to mention the difficult decision to bring in a downward-trending Russell Westbrook to replace Reggie Jackson as the backup point guard. A bright spot I had it was their decision to trade up in this year’s draft for Dayton’s flex-big Daron Holmes II, the heir apparent to the backup role currently occupied by NBA aging DeAndre Jordan, a spot in desperate need of a younger upgrade. Holmes looked extremely promising in the short time he was able to play in Las Vegas, but tragically ruptured Achilles tendon in the second half of his first NBA career, and now he’s out for the year. Maybe it’s time to panic in the Rockies.
One of the other Great Stories of the Summer contained by far his most insufferable speech. It seems everyone and their father, so to speak, has a strong opinion about the Los Angeles Lakers’ late second-round acquisition (and subsequent guaranteed contract signing) of Bronny James, the Lakers forward’s eldest son and undisputed best. player. of all time, LeBron James. Young James was a McDonald’s All-American and was considered a potential lottery pick after showing signs of excellence in high school, but a harrowing on-court cardiac arrest shortly before his first (and only) year at USC truncated his season and hurt his production, and skepticism has been high as to what his NBA prospects could be. To put it bluntly, James Jr. had a rough start to his Summer League match. But the point guard made big strides in his last game in Las Vegas, putting up back-to-back double-digit point games and showing off his nose for the defensive end of the ball. He’s likely headed toward a long stint in the developmental G-League, but the young James showed enough signs of promise to silence at least some of his detractors last week.
4) Not all tall guys can be Kevin Durant
The aforementioned Alex Sarr, the second overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft to the Washington Wizards, learned a lesson that many 7-foot Gen Z shooters discover: Not all tall, lanky basketball players are created equal; and not all tall, lanky basketball players are Kevin Durant. Sarr clearly takes inspiration, like many of his generation, from the two-time NBA Finals MVP, but he doesn’t appear to have the shooting ability or strength at the rim that proved so successful for Durant. To be fair, Sarr has shown flashes of defensive greatness, which will always come in handy in the NBA, especially in his prime. But offensively, he struggled mightily — averaging 5.5 points per game and even going 0-for-15 from the field in one contest. If the player picked right after him in the draft, Reed Sheppard, hadn’t had such a sensational outing in Las Vegas, Sarr’s disappointing performance might not sting as much for long-suffering Wizards fans. But unfortunately…
5) Second round robberies
While this year’s recruiting class has been notoriously underwhelming when it comes to superstar talent, it certainly appears to have contained its fair share of gems. For one thing, after suffering the death of TJ McConnell in the second round of this year’s playoffs, it appears the New York Knicks may have found their own facsimile in Marquette guard Tyler Kolek. Kolek himself doesn’t appreciate McConnell’s comparisons, comparing himself more to his teammate, Jalen Brunson. But we certainly saw flashes of the Indiana guard in Kolek’s game — his quick twitch, craftiness and facilitation skills — and that’s a compliment. And while Minnesota had its breakout moment on draft night when it traded with San Antonio to acquire the draft rights to guard Rob Dillingham, it appears its real draft pick ready to contribute may have come later in the form of Terrence Shannon Jr: He’s big, strong and already looks like a great defender. It turns out that he had also, without a doubt, the dunk of the tournament.
6) The second year students appeared again
Every year in Las Vegas, there are a few perfunctory appearances by sophomore stars who have clearly outgrown Summer League exhibition games, but participate in a game or two as an act of humility and good sportsmanship. This year was no different, as sophomore standouts proved their worth and showed why they have already earned their spots in NBA rotations. This included a couple of Rookie of the Year finalists, Jaime Jacquez Jr and Brandon Miller. Jacquez Jr appeared in just two contests but averaged 26 points, and Miller competed in just one match in Las Vegas this year but displayed clear court dominance with his 23 points. Last year’s Vegas Summer League MVP Cam Whitmore athletically looked head and shoulders above basically all of his competitors, and Memphis sophomore GG Jackson, along with juniors Jake LaRavia and Scottie Pippen Jr (the the latter of which scored just the sixth triple-double in Vegas Summer League history) all looked extremely comfortable and capable with the Grizzlies on their way to the Summer League final, where Miami finally lifted the trophy in overtime.
