​​Four Intriguing NBA Summer League Opener Storylines

The NBA Summer League is officially underway! This is a unique year where both the 2019 and 2020 NBA Draft classes are making their Summer League debuts. With all this gathered young talent in one place there are more than enough interesting storylines to go around.

All eyes will be on the top of the 2020 Draft class with guys like No.1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley who were the consensus top-3 in this year’s draft. But what about the underrated guys in this crop of players who have something to prove?

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In this breakdown of yesterday’s NBA Summer League opener, we are going to take a look at four of the most interesting Summer League storylines developing that do not involve the Top-5 guys taken in this past draft. These storylines touch on things from international prospects to late round/undrafted guys looking to make a name for themselves and even a few sophomore players looking to take a huge leap in their second season as NBA pros.

With that, let’s deep dive into some interesting takeaways from Day 1 of what should be an exciting Summer League season.

LiAngelo Ball Making Headlines in Charlotte

Just when some began to believe that Internet personality LaVar Ball was out of correct predictions, his son LiAngelo Ball put the Ball family right back in the spotlight. After weeks of speculation, LiAngelo Ball indeed was granted the opportunity to play on the Charlotte Hornets’ Summer League team and he did not disappoint in his debut.

In 16 minutes, Ball scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three including a four-point play. His 16 points made him the second-highest scorer for the Hornets behind rookie guard James Bouknight (19) and he was fourth in scoring amongst all players. He also had two assists, two rebounds and two steals in this one.

LaVar once predicted on national television that all three of his sons would play in the NBA. A good Summer League opener of course does not guarantee a spot on the main roster, but it does surely help LiAngelo’s case in making his long-awaited NBA debut. It also helps when your younger brother is the presumed face of the franchise.

Not saying LiAngelo will make the main roster, but all signs point to him getting called up relatively soon if he continues to play at this level throughout the rest of the Summer League.

Sophomore Standout Performances

We have to remember that because of the circumstances of last season, the 2020 NBA rookie class did not get to experience the Summer League. Meaning this year marks their official Summer League debuts as well. With that, there were three guys who particularly had solid debuts to kick off their sophomore seasons.

The first is Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard. In the Celtics Summer League opener against the Atlanta Hawks, Pritchard led all scorers with 23 points while hitting seven three-pointers. He also had five rebounds and five assists with the most crucial assist coming off of a late-game three from Romeo Langford to help ice the eventual 85-83 victory.

With Boston’s guard depth being a huge question mark on the main roster, Pritchard’s development as a lead ball handler will be critical this season. He still sits behind Marcus Smart on the depth chart, but at least on paper it will be up to Pritchard to man the Celtics’ second unit and keep the ship steady when the starters come off the floor.

Next up is New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin. Toppin did not have a great rookie season only averaging 4.1 points and 2.2 rebounds a game last season, but it looks like he may be primed for a breakout sophomore season.

In the Knicks faceoff with the Toronto Raptors, Toppin played a complete game. Leading all scorers with 24 points, Toppin also grabbed eight rebounds, as well as a block and a steal. He did not shoot well from three only going 2-of-10 from deep, but all the athletic prowess he is known for was on full display.

Toppin is a wild card for this New York team as they look to prove that last season’s top-4 finish in the East was not a fluke. He provides depth behind All-Star forward Julius Randle, and he is the team’s only noteworthy above the rim athletic finisher. Toppin is looking to prove that he was worth being taken with the No.8 overall pick back in 2020. If he continues to build on this performance, he may be well on his way to doing just that.

Lastly is Cleveland Cavaliers guard Isaac Okoro. Despite being on the only non-Playoff team of this group, Okoro may have easily had the best rookie season of this group. Last season, Okoro averaged 9.6 points, and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 42% from the floor.

If Okoro looks to solidify himself as part of Cleveland’s young core alongside Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley, he must improve drastically on the offensive end. 42% shooting from the floor is not great and 29% from three is even worse. He is already a top-notch defender in the league as he was projected to be coming out of Auburn. But if he can expand upon his offensive package, he could really grow into an elite two-way wing for the Cavs.

In the Cavaliers game against the Houston Rockets, Okoro led Cleveland with 17 points, three offensive rebounds and two assists. He did only shoot 2-of-6 from three in this one, but his willingness to shoot it from distance is a good sign. It should also be noted that he took 13 shots which was second on the team only behind rookie Evan Mobley who had 17 attempts.

This aggression on the offensive end is something Cleveland fans should hope Okoro continues into the regular season. Okoro has the kind of athleticism and two-way capability to become this team’s second-best player at his peak. He still has a ways to go, but it looks like he is slowly building himself up to potentially become that guy for the Cavs.

In a much-improved Eastern Conference, these three players all look to also look to individually improve as well with the hopes of becoming high level contributors on Playoff teams. After having their first full offseason to prepare, it will be intriguing to see how the entire 2020 NBA Draft class comes back this upcoming season. We could be in store for a really competitive Most Improved Player award race.

Oklahoma City Thunder Lottery Pick Josh Giddey Goes Down

Only five minutes into his Summer League debut, No.6 overall pick Josh Giddey went down with an ankle sprain that forced him to leave the game and not return.

This may not have any significant impact in the immediate future considering Summer League games do not count, but this does unfortunately leave evaluators with questions regarding Giddey’s fit in the NBA. All the highlight tape from his play in Australia shows him to be a high-level passer, strong rebounder for his position and a guy who pushes the pace.

But in his five minutes of action, Giddey did not record a single rebound or assist and was 1-of-3 from the floor. He also had a plus-minus of -7 which was the third worst on his team. Of course, this is a small sample size, but now it takes away much needed reps from a prospect that the Thunder invested a high Lottery pick into. And in spite of him being taken in the Lottery, he is not as well-known as a prospect as some of the other guys taken ahead of him.

Giddey actually falls into a category similar to Charlotte Hornets rookie center Kai Jones where the gifts/tools are there in the form of raw ability but ability to develop will be the difference between being a superstar, a rotational player or being out of the league. So, this is not a great start to his NBA career, especially considering this was a relatively non-contact injury.

Oklahoma City is in no rush to get good anytime soon, but they surely want to maximize their high draft picks. Hopefully Giddey’s injury will not hinder him for long and he will be ready to make his official NBA debut at the start of the regular season in October.

Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins Makes Summer League Debut

For Maryland Terrapins fans the biggest storyline of the NBA Summer League opener is the pro debut of former Terrapins guard Aaron Wiggins. After being drafted 55th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 NBA Draft, Wiggins came out aggressive and played well against No.1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons.

In 23 minutes of action, Wiggins posted a stat line of 13 points and four rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. This made him the third in scoring for the Thunder behind second-year guard Theo Maledon (15 points) and fellow rookie forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (14 points). He also showed off some of his athleticism and versatility on the defensive end as he grabbed three steals on the night as well.

Now there were two blemishes on his big night that cannot go unnoticed. The first is that he led the team in turnovers with four which also to be almost half of the team’s total turnovers for the game (10). Considering he faced off with some solid defenders in Saddiq Bey, Saben Lee and even Cunningham, this is not entirely surprising. But at the next level Wiggins will be seeing much better defenders than this group and if he cannot protect the ball, he will become difficult to play in an OKC rotation full of guys fighting for playing time.

The other thing is the three-point shooting. 0-of-2 from beyond the arc, but as mentioned in my player profile of Wiggins, expanding his range is the swing skill that could earn him significant minutes as part of this Thunder core. Now of course this is only the first of many Summer League games to come, so he has time to tighten things up heading into the regular season. For his debut I would give him a solid B letter grade considering he did have a pretty good overall game on both sides of the floor.