Jul 6, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James Jr. (9) controls the ball in opposition to Sacramento Kings guard Dane Goodwin (33) throughout the third quarter at Chase Heart. Necessary Credit score: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports activities Innovation appears to continually be on NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s thoughts.
Silver hasn’t been shy in the case of altering the league’s panorama, most notably by incorporating an in-season match into the schedule to present groups one thing to play for because the midpoint of the common season approaches.
Each gamers and followers alike have reaped the advantages of Silver’s NBA, which has been extraordinarily aggressive for the higher a part of the previous 11 seasons, producing eight totally different champions throughout that span.
Nonetheless, the NBA Summer time League has been getting the chilly shoulder.
For the frequent fan, Summer time League motion in all probability isn’t even on the radar. And it’s simple to grasp why. Cracking a few chilly ones whereas beating the warmth by taking the boat out on the lake sounds quite a bit higher than parking in entrance of the TV to look at prospects and low-end function gamers go at one another in the midst of the afternoon.
If the second choice does attraction to you, the Miami Warmth and Dallas Mavericks tip off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, simply so that you’re conscious.
Nonetheless, there needs to be a manner for the NBA to attract consideration to the Summer time League and showcase its redeeming qualities.
Victor Wembanyama dominated the 2023 NBA Summer time League. supply: Getty Pictures We all know this as a result of there was loads of buzz surrounding final yr’s Las Vegas Summer time League, the place San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama took over the highlight forward of his rookie season.
Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder large man Chet Holmgren and Houston Rockets ahead Jabari Smith Jr. had been additionally among the many prime names in Las Vegas in 2023.
However right here in 2024, other than the Bronny James storyline, there’s actually been no purpose to look at.
An awfully bland draft class is the first perpetrator, however this isn’t going to be the final time {that a} pool of rising rookies doesn’t have a handful of star-studded names about to formally hit the skilled ranks.
The NBA obtained dealt a foul hand with this draft class. It’s nonetheless the league’s duty to make its product value watching, even when it’s simply Summer time League basketball.
Shout out to gamers like Reed Sheppard, Jordan Miller and Julian Strawther for doing all they will to present us one thing to get enthusiastic about this summer time. Sheppard, the No. 3 total choose on this yr’s draft, has been one of the spectacular rookies to this point, averaging 22.5 factors, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists throughout two video games for the Rockets.
Miller and Strawther, who’re each approaching their second NBA season, have every scored 57 factors in two video games for the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, respectively.
If Silver needed to take advantage of the Summer time League, he’d use it as a check lab for modifications that the NBA may sometime implement. Along with probably having the following nice thought originate in Las Vegas, followers would even be extra keen to look at, as they’d have the possibility to see issues that don’t present up throughout the common season.
Getting younger gamers a style of professional ball is the first objective of the Summer time League, however why not push the envelope a bit?
Possibly which means an NCAA Match-style bracket the place the final group standing will get some more money. Or maybe the Summer time League MVP is assured to land a roster spot.
On the finish of the day, nobody goes to make an enormous fuss about how entertaining the Summer time League is or isn’t. However we definitely wouldn’t be against some considerably significant NBA basketball in July, and what we have now on the desk proper now definitely isn’t going to chop it.