Denver in descent and Bronny in bloom: NBA summer league takeaways

1) Houston won the draft

By the time draft night rolled around, it was pretty much common knowledge that the Atlanta Hawks, who had the first overall pick for the first time since 1975, would select Zaccharie Risacher and anoint him as the second annual French Beanpole King of the Draft. Risacher, however, is no Victor Wembanyama. And just because the pick was widely predicted doesn’t mean it was widely agreed upon. Several draft boards (including that of Kevin O’Connor from the Ringer) had Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, a guard who went with the third overall pick out of Houston, as their top prospect, and his time in Vegas showed why they appear to have been right. Sheppard, though slightly undersized at 6ft 3in, was damned 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 – behind the scenes explaining why they passed on him.

2) The Nuggets are in trouble

One of the stories of the summer so far is less of a story and more of a question: What the hell are the Denver Nuggets doing? Piece by piece, they’ve been passively dismantling their championship roster, losing Bruce Brown to the free agency market this past offseason and doing the same with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this summer, both key players in what had been a world-beating rotation. And that’s without even getting into the head-scratching decision to bring in declining Russell Westbrook to replace Reggie Jackson as the backup point guard. A silver lining had their decision to trade for flex big Daron Holmes II from Dayton in this year’s draft, the heir apparent to the reserve five role currently occupied by NBA senior DeAndre Jordan, a spot in dire need of a younger upgrade. Holmes showed promise in the short time he was able to play in Las Vegas, but tragically, he tore his Achilles tendon in the second half of his first-ever NBA outing, and he’s now out for the year. It might be time for the Rockies to panic.

3) Bronny James has potential

One of the other The summer’s big stories contained, by far, the most excruciating discourse. 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 signing) of Bronny James, the eldest son of Lakers forward and arguably greatest player of all time LeBron James. The younger James was a McDonald’s All-American and was being talked about as a potential lottery pick after showing signs of excellence in high school, but an on-court cardiac arrest just before his freshman (and only) year at USC cut his season short and put a damper on his output, and skepticism ran high about what his NBA prospects might be. To put it bluntly, James Jr. had a rocky start to his Summer League outing. But the guard made big strides in his final game in Vegas, scoring back-to-back double-digit points and showing his nose for the defensive side of the ball. He’s likely to play in the developmental G-league for an extended period, but the younger James showed enough signs of potential to silence at least some of his opponents last week.

4) Not all tall men can be Kevin Durant

The aforementioned Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft for the Washington Wizards, learned a lesson that many 7-foot Gen-Z hoopers are discovering: not all tall, skinny basketball players are created equal; and not all tall, skinny basketball players are Kevin Durant. Sarr clearly draws inspiration, like many in his generation, from the two-time NBA Finals MVP, but he doesn’t seem to have the shooting or strength at the rim that have proven so successful for Durant. To be fair, Sarr has shown flashes of defensive greatness, which is always useful in the NBA, especially at his peak. But he has struggled mightily offensively—averaging 5.5 points per game and even going 0-for-15 from the field in one game. If the player drafted immediately after him, Reed Sheppard, hadn’t had such a sensational Vegas exit, perhaps Sarr’s disappointing performance wouldn’t hurt so much for long-suffering Wizards fans. But unfortunately …

5) Second Round Steals

While this year’s draft class was notoriously disappointing in terms of superstar talent, it certainly seems to have had its fair share of gems. First, after being crushed by TJ McConnell in the second round of this year’s playoffs, it appears the New York Knicks have found their own carbon copy in Marquette guard Tyler Kolek. Kolek himself doesn’t appreciate the comparisons to McConnellcomparing himself more to his own teammate, Jalen Brunson. But we certainly saw flashes of the Indiana guard in Kolek’s game – his quick movement, craftiness and facilitating skills – and that’s a compliment. And while Minnesota had their most notable moment of draft night when they traded with San Antonio for the rights to draft undersized guard Rob Dillingham, it appears their actual draft pick who’s ready to contribute came later in the form of Terrence Shannon Jr.: He’s big, strong and already appears to be a great defender. He also happened to, reportedly, the dunk of the tournament.

6) The second year students showed themselves again

Every year in Vegas, there are a few superficial performances from sophomore stars who have clearly outgrown the Summer League exhibition games, but who, as a show of humility and good sportsmanship, participate in a game or two. This year was no different, as sophomore stars proved their worth and showed why they’ve already earned their spots in NBA rotations. This included a pair of Rookie of the Year finalists in Jaime Jacquez Jr. and Brandon Miller. Jacquez Jr. appeared in just two games but averaged 26 points, and Miller appeared in just one game in Vegas this year but showed clear control of the court with his 23 points. Last year’s Vegas Summer League MVP Cam Whitmore was head and shoulders above virtually all of his competitors in terms of athleticism, and Memphis sophomore GG Jackson, along with juniors Jake LaRavia and Scottie Pippen Jr. (the latter notched just the sixth triple-double in Vegas Summer League history) all looked exceptionally comfortable and capable with the Grizzlies heading into their Summer League finals, where Miami finally held up the trophy in overtime.