Why NBA Summer League Is Fun But Misleading

We break down why NBA Summer League is mostly entertainment and why the box score can trick you into making big claims off small samples. We react to the biggest rookie matchups, point out what actually translates, and explain why returnees have a different standard. 

• Summer League as a fun watch instead of a true scouting tool 
• Why top rookies often look like the best player on the floor 
• Damian Lillard versus Josh Selby as the cautionary tale 
• Darryn Peterson’s big stat lines and what they do not prove yet 
• AJ Dybantsa familiar game and the real test being NBA talent 
• Turnovers, handle, strength and decision making as the cleaner tells 
• Returnees like Cody Williams, Tre Johnson and Will Riley needing to dominate 
• Other games and players to monitor, including Kingston Flemings and Yaxel Lendeborg 
• Rules like 10 fouls changing how defense and physicality look 

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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Subscribe Plug

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're gonna talk about the NBA Summer League. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening to me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, like I said, we're gonna talk about Summer League, right?

Summer League Is Not That Serious

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Off the top, ladies and gentlemen, I just gotta say this it's not that important. Okay, it's purely entertainment. Don't get me wrong, the NBA is entertainment, right? But at the same time, like within the NBA, you can actually study players at Summer League, it's purely entertainment, man. Like, I get to see the top-tier rookies as the best player, which normally when they get drafted, right, they get drafted by the worst teams. So they're probably going to be either the best player or one of the best players, right? But how often do some of these players really get in this situation? Also, the talent at Summer League has some NBA talent, but it's not quite NBA talent, to be clear. And then also, you get to see if the returning NBA players, right, are actually ready. When I mean returning NBA players, I mean players who have already played in the NBA, whether it's a season or two, you get to see if they actually dominate. Because this is the time for players to dominate, okay? Now, again, I say it's mainly entertainment because normally you don't really see some of these players really thrive.

The Damian Lillard And Josh Selby Warning

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Like we saw Damian Lillard thrive, right, in summer league. But you know who we also saw thrive? His co-MVP and Josh Selby. And I bet money, most of y'all don't know who Josh Selby is. To be clear, Josh was actually cool, bro. Alright, coming out of high school, I think he went as I think he was ranked as high as number four. He had that dog in him. He was just an undersized two-guard and didn't quite pan out as well as you would have hoped and liked and thought back then. But a lot of the casual fans more than likely don't know who Josh Selby is. Like I actually saw Josh Selby growing up, and he was a good hooper. But we remember Damian Lillard, though. Because Dame actually did what he was supposed to do in the NBA. But again, if we were paying attention to Summer League, well, we're expecting Josh Selby to do numbers the way Dame did. Again, the Summer League, ladies and gentlemen, is purely, purely, purely entertainment. Now,

Darren Peterson Vs Cameron Boozer Breakdown

SPEAKER_00 2:41

again, I talked about the top-tier rookies, right? And that's where we get to figure out how these rookies might play. Like, for example, Darren Peterson, Darren Peterson has actually had a quality summer league thus far. Alright, like Buddy was actually playing pretty phenomenal. I gotta be honest, okay. Like Darren Peterson when they went up against the Grizzlies. That's right. We got the second pick in the NBA draft and Darren Peterson going up against the third pick in the draft and Cameron Boozer. Darren gave us 25 points and 12 assists. I think two turnovers. Cameron Boozer gave us 18 points, seven rebounds, maybe like four assists. That's not bad, ladies and gentlemen. It's lovely to see these two teams, these two talents go up against one another. It's entertaining. Because again, seeing Darren Peterson get 25 and 12 makes you wonder, will he be able to do this in the NBA? But again, remember, it's not specifically NBA talent here. It's not. Some of these players are not NBA ready. That's just that's just a fact. So again, ladies and gentlemen, while it's cool to see some of these productions, it's not the end all be all.

Jazz Vs Wizards Rookie Showdown

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Now, the game that I was really looking forward to watching, and it just took place, it was against Darren Peterson and AJ DeBonza. The Jazz versus the Wizards. And to be honest with you, the game was actually pretty entertaining. I gotta admit that, ladies and gentlemen. It really was. Not just because the number one or the number two drafted players were playing against one another, not because they've also played against each other in college and high school. Because the game was actually close. Like the Wizards went up as much as I think 17, and they ended up winning the game 92-88. But here's what I saw. Saw a couple of things, right? Like again, the top-tier rookies. Darren Peterson, he did phenomenal. AJ DeBonsa, he did phenomenal. Like, don't get me wrong. Darren had eight turnovers, right? We can we can chill out on that. Two of seven from the three, six of eighteen from the field, six of eight from the free throw line. So the free throws were okay. AJ, seven of eighteen from the field, oh five from the three-point line, seven of eight from the free throw line, two steals and a block, and he had an emphatic dunk showing showcasing his athleticism. I didn't really learn but so much about these boys. I'm telling you right now, it was a pure entertaining game to watch. Because the stuff that I saw AJ do during this game are the same thing that I saw him do during college. Like, again, it's it's it's not that much that you're really learning at this point in time. We saw him do bump fades, we saw him attack the basket, we saw him be very trigger happy, we saw him getting to the free throw line. Again, these were things that we saw at BYU. Hell, these are things we saw in high school. So his game has been transitioning from high school to college to the NBA. Fairly the same. So he's he's gonna be a good player. But now we just gotta see him do it against NBA talent. Darren Peterson. Well, we did learn maybe you can tighten up your handle a little bit, champ. And he's gonna have to get stronger. So is AJ. But again, we already knew that because coming into cop from college to NBA, there is a jump, usually. So we already expected that. So again, what are we really gaining? What are we really learning from Summer League? It's pure entertainment. Now, I I would say this.

Returnees Who Need To Dominate

SPEAKER_00 6:22

I probably learned more about the returnees than I did about the newbies, right? Like Trey Johnson, Will Riley, who else was it? Cody Williams. Those players I actually probably learned a little bit more of. Because when you're returning, like I said, those returning players, they need to dominate. And in that first half, I ain't gonna lie to you, Cody was struggling. Now he ended up with a decent night, right? Six of 12 from the field, two of three from three, five rebounds, two assists, three turnovers. You know, that happened a little early, four steals at a block. You can you can work with that. But again, ladies and gentlemen, I was expecting a little bit more out of Cody Williams, to be clear. Now, again, he got 12 shots off, made half of them. So I can at least take that. But at the first half, he didn't seem like he was doing quite well. And I'm thinking more so defensively, because again, he had to guard AJ. AJ was snapping off top. Trey Johnson, right? 11 of 20 from the field for 26 points. That ain't bad. Now, two of eight from three. I would have loved to see him shoot a little bit better from three, but again, 11 of 20 overall. That's not nothing to scoff at. Turnovers we could have cut down, because that's talking about decision making for sure. But again, ladies and gentlemen, he's in a different role. When he goes to the Wizards, he's going to be more of a shooter, more of a role player. On this team, he's arguably the second option. So again, Will Riley, he did quite well, especially towards the stretch. Both of them played phenomenal because the AJ's out the game. These two had to close the game for the Wizards. So again, I expected a good amount from these guys, and they did deliver. And again, the game was phenomenal. So I got to at least get entertained by these teams. But again, I didn't learn but so much. Again, you have expectations of the rookies, you have expectations of the income of the returning players. But I'm not really learning anything until we go up against NBA teams. So once the season actually hints, once preseason starts, now we get to see a little bit more out of these players. But again,

Other Summer League Games To Watch

SPEAKER_00 8:34

ladies and gentlemen, like I said, some of the notable games that we got to watch. AJ DeBonsa versus Darren Peterson, the number one versus number two. Then we had Darren Peterson versus Cameron Boozer, the number two versus the number three. Like those were pretty spectacular. Also, another game to watch. Kingston Flemings and the Atlanta Hawks versus the Jazz. You know it's crazy. We we are really mentioning Darren Peterson out here quite a bit. Quite a bit. It's ridiculous. Also, that's another game where Darren had eight turnovers, so we may have to watch him in these turnovers. But again, Kingston Flemings had 14 points, nine assists, four steals. Yeah, I'm looking forward to watching, buddy. 4'16 from the field. Also, again, ladies and gentlemen, in summer league, the reason why I don't put as much emphasis on this in this entertainment.

Weird Rules And The Limits Of Tape

SPEAKER_00 9:25

You get something like 10 fouls. 10 fouls in summer league. Meanwhile, in the NBA, you get six. So you can kind of go crazy with some of these fouls. That's why I say it's entertainment. I don't really learn nothing.

Your Most Entertaining Game And Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 9:39

But I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, have you seen a game that was overly interesting to you in the summer league that I didn't mention? Like maybe you saw Yaxel Lindenborg, right? And he did phenomenal. Maybe you peeped that game. That game was pretty spectacular. I ain't gonna hold you actually. Like he he played. No, no, he played pretty well. I ain't gonna lie. Yaxel was a really good pickup for the Warriors, ladies and gentlemen. Tell right now, he is very versatile. I think he gave like 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists, something like that. Like, he's pretty spectacular. I ain't gonna lie to y'all. So I'm looking forward to seeing what players like Yaxel do against NBA caliber talent. Maybe he's helpful in Steph Curry winning another championship. Who knows? But again, these summer league games, purely entertainment. But let me know your thoughts on the summer league games and which one were the most entertaining for you. Or if you feel like you've learned something about these players, I'd like to know your thoughts. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey, I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.