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As the 2022 NBA Summer League ends, we’ve seen some really impressive basketball from the league’s next-generation stars.
Of course, players like Jaden Ivey, Shadon Sharp, and Dyson Daniels could be injured, and the overall play of the guys we expected more could be disappointing. ..
After a few fun weeks, these are the biggest winners and losers out of the 2022 Summer League in Las Vegas.
1/5
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Murray is arguably the best overall player in Las Vegas. This is a great compliment given the three players chosen before him (Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith) and the lottery picks from the 2021 and 2020 NBA Drafts. is.
His powerful play also (at least temporarily) relieved pressure from Kings’ front office and was enthusiastic about not picking Jaden Ivey in fourth place overall or trading back with a team aiming for a Purdue University star. It was tinged.
Murray averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals, shooting 50% of the total in the first four games and 40% from three games. He demonstrates his ability to play the ball on or off and is used both as a spot-up shooter and for knocking down open threes at high speeds off the screen.
Perhaps the best compliment for Summer League players is that they simply don’t belong. This is how a 21-year-old player appears to be playing against both younger and older people. Murray was the “right choice” for Kings as a long-term option, a great two-way step forward, but the key to getting started right away between guys like De’Aaron Fox and Domantus. It seems to be. Sabonis.
We’ve seen Murray’s ability as a scorer, defender, rebounder, and flash as a passerby. He will be able to fill the gap this fall as all the steps forward for new head coach Mike Brown.
It would have been easy to make fun of Sacramento if Murray had been in the Summer League, but he did the exact opposite.
2/5
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If the Top 10 Draft Topic is still playing in the Summer League entering his third NBA season, something may not be going as planned.
This is the case for the Detroit Pistons point guard in the 2020 draft and the 7th overall haze. After struggling in his first two seasons, this was an opportunity for Hayes to establish himself among other young pistons in the Summer League and perhaps show his long-awaited ability as a somewhat capable scorer.
Instead, Hayes played in just one Summer League contest, scoring just 7 points (of which 2 were goal-ending calls) in 22 minutes, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turns. Over, achieved 6 fouls.
After Pistons took Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey’s ball handling guards in a back-to-back draft, even if Hayes was on the roster, this might have been his last chance to continue his first job at the age of 20. Not before finally settling as a backup point guard for Pistons.
With the exception of some nifty assists to Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, Hayes did nothing to prove that Ivy deserves to be postponed to start the season.
With a career average of only 6.8 points (37.4% overall shots, 26.8% on three shots), 3.0 rebounds in 25.2 minutes, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals, Hayes is at risk of not being able to win his fourth year team option. It may have been. Pistons.
Given that he had been in the NBA for two years and had received a second summer league dose, Hayes had more opportunities to do more with the chances he had. It would have been nice to see.
3/5
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It’s probably unfair that the NBA Champion, a group of four All-Stars and three future Hall of Fame players, owns one of the best young cores in the league.
Alas, the Warriors may certainly be light-years ahead of the rest of the league.
Basketball fans should generally be thrilled to see James Wiseman return to the court after missing the entire 2021-22 season recovering from knee surgery. The overall second place in the 2020 draft is an average of 10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 54.5% shots in just 20.3 minutes.
He worked well after the injury and showed his great potential as a defender. He has also been used as a rim roller and occasionally floor spacer during attacks.
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Second-year guard Moses Moody is second of all players in scoring (27.5 points per game), but Jonathan Kuminga is not too late (19.3). After veterans such as Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., Damion Lee, Juan Toscano Anderson, and Nemanya Bierica have retired through free agents and overseas contracts, both should play more roles in the Warriors this season.
After both were selected for the lottery in 2021, Moody and Kuminga are big, athletic multi-position threats with potential stars, especially after playing in the Summer League.
Stephen Curry (34) Warriors Core, Klay Thompson (32) and Draymond Green (32) are nearing the end of the road, and it’s time for the team to put three elite candidates into a bigger role next season. It could mean an even better team than. I won yet another title.
4/5
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Hardy and his new team, the Dallas Mavericks, looked like a big winner after his first Summer League game.
Hardy scored 28 points in 9 out of 19 efficient shots, including 4 rebounds, 3 assists and steals. After struggling in the G League last season, this is Hardy’s version, making him one of the top high school students in the country. It also meant a potential credible ball handler and offensive threat next to Luka Doncic, with Jalen Brunson leaving for the New York Knicks.
Of course, this is the danger of a small sample size.
Hardy’s next three games have looked the same since his time in the G League. There, the shot selection was inadequate, the handle was sloppy, and the unreliable 3 ball (26.9%) was shown.
Hardy scored an average of 11.8 points in 30.4% of all shots, shooting more than 26.7% of the four contests following the first match. He also won a total of 19 turnovers and 18 personal fouls in this span.
This is exactly what Mavericks didn’t want to see after learning about Hardy’s shooting struggle last year. Head coaches Jason Kidd and the Mavericks may have already had the rookie take part in regular season rotations at the powerful Summer League show, as Hardy produced on his first expedition.
Instead, Hardy certainly looks like a long-term project. This is a victory. The Mavericks may not be able to wait now. Dallas needs a player who can hit and defend shots around Doncic. Hardy hasn’t shown a consistent ability to do in the G League or Summer League so far.
5/5
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Among the constant dramas surrounding Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons at Brooklyn Nets last season, Thomas was often overlooked despite his promise as a rookie. I did.
27th overall in 2021 was one of the highest scorers in all college basketball during the lonely season at LSU, and after winning the co-MVP honor last year, he again made an aggressive chop in the Summer League. I have the opportunity to show off. ..
This 20-year-old player is ranked first in terms of points (28.0 points per game), along with 3.8 assists. His three-point shot hasn’t been made yet (28.6 percent), but he shot 48.1 percent inside the arc.
His handle allows the defender to freeze before he blows into the paint or hits a stepback three point. A large 6-foot, 4-inch and 210-pound guard, Thomas was able to draw and finish by contact, achieving 42 (87.5 percent) of the 48 free throws in four games.
Whatever happens with Durant’s trade requests and Irving’s always-suspicious availability, Thomas deserves a bigger role on the net next season as a Spark Plug Sixth Man who can ideally create an immediate attack. I proved that.
Thomas isn’t the first name raised when talking about Brooklyn, but his play in this Summer League suggests he’s the future star of the league.
