As the NBA Summer League concluded, we thought we’d take a look back at some strong performances in recent memory. Among the players that are currently on the Washington Wizards roster, a few had notable performances over the summer.
Oftentimes, it’s these performances that really grab the attention of the fan base and league. Guys on this list made a variety of statements during the summer tournament. Whether simply proving they belong at the NBA level or giving their team’s fan base a jolt of hope that they got a draft steal, the summer league offers the chance for all kinds of statements.
While it’s important to not overreact to what we see in the summer league, it’s also important for fans to find some level of excitement in the summer league showcase. Both things can be done responsibly.
Wizards that Dominated the NBA Summer League – Honorable Mentions:
Daniel Gafford, 2019-20
Monte Morris, 2018-19
Both Gafford and Morris had strong performances during the NBA Summer League early in their respective careers. Neither player did it as a member of the Wizards, but that doesn’t exclude them from this list.
Gafford played for the Chicago Bulls during the 2019-20 summer league in Las Vega, appearing in five games. He averaged 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Pretty nice numbers for a guy that played 24.9 minutes per contest.
For Morris, the impressive performance came during the 2018-19 Summer League. The main reason he just missed the cut is that his impressive showing happened in what was his second year playing in the summer league for the Denver Nuggets.
In that second year, Morris put up 17.5 points and 6.25 assists per game. He made half of his shots from the field and 35.7 percent of his shots from behind the arc. It was at that time people noticed Morris had a good chance to develop into a solid rotation player.
Now, before we get into the three who made the list, a couple of notes. One of the three players did not play for the Wizards yet when he put on an absolutely stellar performance in the summer league. The other two did so as Wizards, with one being pretty expected and the other giving fans maybe a little bit too much hope.