What a time to be alive.
The Las Vegas Summer League, a series of games featuring fringe NBA players top to bottom, has become a hot ticket. Games sell out. Crowds react in ways that would make cellar dweller NBA teams jealous.
The Summer League has grown in popularity since Marcus Banks made national headlines in 2007, dropping a summer league record 42 points for the Phoenix Suns. A “sore left shoulder” kept him out of the rest of the summer league, but his legend never left the summer league floor.
More importantly, it was clear that Banks, at this point in his career, was too good for the summer league.
To this point, several players have entered into the same sacred exhibition ground and put up results, but not many have come close to Banks’ brilliance in 2007. But there have been a slew of guys who had that same “too good for the summer league” look to them.
This year is no different. While rookies like Markelle Fultz (get well soon!) and Jayson Tatum have lit up the floor, the second and third year guys have done the same with more of a calm confidence. These are the best examples of this.
The Rules:
- The player must have at least one game in the Summer League in 2017- This one should be obvious, hopefully. Giannis Antetokounmpo is too good for the Summer League. That’s why he isn’t in it.
- The player cannot be a rookie- All rookies need the Summer League, no matter how good they might appear to be coming in.
The Format: Just like the All-NBA teams, the All-Marcus Banks team will consist of two backcourt players and three frontcourt players.
G: Bryn Forbes – San Antonio Spurs
Stats (per game): 26.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, .455 FG%
*Insert “Of course he’s a Spur!” joke*
Forbes, a guy who got spot minutes in last year’s playoffs, has clearly picked up some tricks in the Gregg Popovich school of hard knocks. In his last game against Philly, he dropped an at the time league-high 35 points in a rout against the Markell Fultz-less 76ers, and looked as comfortable as you can look in this atmosphere.
G: Wayne Selden – Memphis Grizzlies
Stats- 24.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 steals
Selden is in the summer league to prove his worth to his team from a year ago. So far, he’s done that and then some. Early on, he looks like if the Grizzlies, somehow, don’t want his services, he’s going to be picked up very quickly. He has a nose for the basket, and the time in Vegas has brought out the dog in him defensively, especially in terms of entering passing lanes.
F: Brandon Ingram – Los Angeles Lakers
Stats- 26 points, 1 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, .529 FG%
Ingram will only play one game this summer, likely ending his summer league career earlier than some expected. The culprit? Leg cramps. That, and the fact that he looked light years ahead of his competition in his one game against the Clippers. His absence for the rest of the summer is precautionary, and totally justified, but it proves his necessity to be on this list.
F: Troy Williams – Houston Rockets
Stats- 25 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals, 0.5 blocks, .517 FG%
Williams has shown off his impressive handles, speed, and slashing ability in each game he’s played thus far for his Rockets. He didn’t have as much of a chance to show off his ability to create offense in his short stint with Houston last year, but this has been a great platform for him to show what he can do for Mike D’Antoni this season. The short story: it might be more than they expected, if what we’ve seen early is any indication.
F: Juancho Hernangomez – Denver Nuggets
Stats- 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.7 blocks, .375 FG%
It’s kind of surprising to see Hernangomez in this field of players. Yes, he’s just 21 and could certainly use the Summer League to hone in on his skills. But the stretch big man was a semi-regular for Denver a year ago, and shot over 40 percent from deep in action. Regardless, he’s shown off his full arsenal so far in Vegas, displaying a nice ability to find the open man, rebound the ball (a bit), and score from both inside and out. His shooting efficiency hasn’t been there, but Micah Nori has given him the most reps by far. This has resulted in some spotty shooting numbers, but some nice eye test results.
Next: The Toronto Raptors have showed plenty of promise in Las Vegas
Others receiving votes: Patrick McCaw (Golden State Warriors), Malik Beasley (Denver Nuggets), Marquese Chriss (Phoenix Suns)