LAS VEGAS — The NBA’s 2024 Summer League is underway in Las Vegas, and we already have plenty of winners and losers from all over the league.
The statistical samples may be minuscule, but after watching action from the California Classic, Salt Lake City and the first few days in Vegas, we have some takes.
The biggest on either side of the winners-and-losers line can be found below.
Every summer, there are some second-year players in action who are clearly too good for this level of competition. And in 2024, that trend has been even more obvious.
Draft experts have been telling us for most of the last 12 months that this incoming rookie class wouldn’t be the strongest, so the contrast between them and players like Brandon Miller (23 points in his first game), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (26.0 points per game), Brandin Podziemski (18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists), Julian Strawther (28.5 points) and Cam Whitmore (16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals) is pretty stark.
Even Jordan Miller, who only played eight games in 2023-24, has 57 points in his first two games.
This is an event where just about everyone in action is looking to prove something. Most are almost playing too hard. It’s frantic. Plenty of possessions look completely out of control. And the players who’ve already adjusted to the NBA’s size, speed and athleticism, relative to those who haven’t, sometimes look like Neo after he’s figured out The Matrix.
Those second-year pros above know that fastest isn’t always best. They can play with pace and patience. Their willingness to take what the defense gives them, as opposed to trying to force something that’s not there, stands out.
And while there’s some value in this experience, expect to see most (if not all) of these guys shut down at some point this week.
Again, the early minutes for much of this incoming draft class have been rough.
Zaccharie Risacher had some moments, especially in his first game, when he had 18 points and hit three threes. But it’s hard to remember the last No. 1 overall pick who had less of an imprint on summer league’s opening nights. The buzz around him at the Thomas and Mack Center (and nearby Cox Pavilion) was limited, and it didn’t last long after his games.
No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr is having a nightmarish time putting the ball in the basket. The seven-footer looks the part. He’s huge, and he moves pretty well for his size, but he’s shooting 30.8 percent from the floor.
Elsewhere around this class, Stephon Castle had 22 points in his debut, but it took 21 shots and an injury to get there. Ron Holland flashed some of the athleticism that made him a top-five pick, but he’s 5-of-15 from the field. Efficiency has been similarly challenging for Matas Buzelis.
A handful of players from this draft have had encouraging moments (including one we’ll spend a bit more time on in a bit), but the overarching takeaway has to be that even those who can develop into role players might take a few years.
With the possible exception of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dalton Knecht (who’s scored plenty and clearly has good feel for the game, despite shooting poorly in his second outing), Reed Sheppard is the only rookie who’s looked to be on about the same level as the aforementioned second-year stars.
Even after an off shooting night in his third game in Vegas, Sheppard is averaging 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.3 blocks, while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from deep.
With his patience, vision and measured approach to the offensive side of the floor, watching him is almost like someone hit the reset button on Mark Price’s career. It’s so obvious that the legend himself chimed in.
But what may be most interesting about the 6’2″ guard is his stellar anticipation and timing on the defensive end.
His shooting translating almost seemed like a given. In the somewhat limited opportunities he had to create for teammates at Kentucky, he looked like a big-time playmaker, too.
But those who are just now getting a chance to watch Sheppard for extended minutes may be surprised by his upside on the other end. It’s what could elevate him to legitimate star potential.
This may be as much a comment on the draft class as it is on the player, but No. 55 pick Bronny James has generated more media attention than anyone in Las Vegas. He got the primetime tipoff for his games on Friday and Monday. And there was plenty of reaction to his two contests in California, too.
But all these four games have shown us is that his terrible offensive numbers at USC were legitimate (maybe not simply the product of poor coaching) and that there’s a reason he had to wait till the 55th pick to be selected by his father’s team.
After going 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from three in Monday’s loss to the Boston Celtics, Bronny is now averaging 4.3 points in a Lakers jersey. He’s missed all 15 of his three-point attempts and is just 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) overall.
Now, Bronny has had his moments on the defensive end. He had five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in his second game in California, but there’s a point at which a player’s offense can be bad enough to make him unplayable in real games.
Even with his defensive upside, these four games are suggesting a chance Bronny could dip below that line.
For any other 55th overall pick, that’d be fine. It wouldn’t be remotely notable, but Bronny’s family connection has come with loads of attention and pressure. Living up to it will be no small feat.
If there is one thing this 2024 class seems ready to do at an NBA level, it’s play hard. And that particularly applies to some of the big men who may spend a lot of time around the rim.
Through games on Monday, three of the top five players in blocks per game in Vegas are rookies.
Adem Bona and Donovan Clingan are both at 4.0 blocks per game (and Clingan is adding 12.0 rebounds). Alexandre Sarr is tied with a handful of other players for fifth with 3.0 blocks per game.
This draft class may not feature a ton of future star power, but there are some big men who can make an impact on the defensive end as early as this season.
As he demonstrated at Colorado this past season, Tristan da Silva has great feel for the game and doesn’t really force anything. He’s exactly the kind of plug-and-play scorer and playmaker who can make the Orlando Magic’s positionless duo of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero a positionless trio.
Zach Edey has only played one game in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform so far, and it wasn’t even in Vegas. But he may have already put some minds at ease regarding perhaps the biggest concern about him. Edey moved just fine against fringe NBA talent and took up a ton of space on defense. It’s still hard to imagine him surviving switches onto the perimeter, but that’s true of plenty of effective big men.
Another player who made his biggest impact in Salt Lake City, Keyonte George looked like a smooth-operating scorer in two games on his home turf. He shot 31.3 percent from three and had more turnovers than assists in those contests, but it’s getting pretty easy to buy into his potential as a heat-check scorer.