Miami Heat center Orlando Robinson, center front, makes a basket as Boston Celtics guard Jay Scrubb (29) tries to keep him from the net during an NBA Summer League basketball game Saturday, July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama and many of the highest 2023 draft picks are out for the rest of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, but several other players are worth watching.
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George, this year’s No. 16 overall pick from Baylor, is second in the league with 29.5 points and third with 8.5 assists per game. He opened with 33 points and 10 assists on July 8 in a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. In Monday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting and had seven assists. He’s firing 12.5 3-pointers per game and has made 44% of them.
Others who are off to hot starts:
— Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. is leading the league with 35.5 ppg, although he might be among the players who will be held out of play the rest of the summer.
— Sam Merrill, who turned a 10-day contract into a multiyear deal with Cleveland last season, is averaging 18.7 points and shooting 48% from three for the 3-0 Cavs.
— Orlando Robinson has averaged 25.5 points and 10 rebounds in his first two contests for the Miami Heat while shooting 59.4% from the field. Undrafted in 2022, he spent much of last season with the G-League Sioux Falls Skyforce before the Heat signed him to a standard contract.
— Jaden Hardy, a second round pick in 2022, is averaging 24 points for the Dallas Mavericks.
— Xavier Moon, who went undrafted in 2017 and has spent most of his pro career overseas, has averaged 22 points on 61.5% shooting in two games with the Los Angeles Clippers.
— MarJon Beauchamp, the 24th pick in 2022, is averaging 21.5 points on 51.5% shooting for the Milwaukee Bucks.
— Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, but he sat out the season with a foot injury. He had 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in his only game in Las Vegas so far.
