NBA: 5 major takeaways after a tremendously entertaining start to Summer League
By Ryan McCrary
5 Major takeaways from the start of NBA Summer League.
The NBA’s summer league began last week, and we’ve seen a lot of interesting things take place, like second-year players looking like stars and rookies proving they may just be the future of the league. Here are five major takeaways from the start of the 2023 NBA summer league.
1. Keegan Murray and Jalen Williams are way too good for the summer league
Keegan Murray had a good start to the summer league vs. the Golden State Warriors, recording 29 points and two steals while shooting 47.1% from the field and hitting 10 of 11 free throws. This was a great way to kick off the summer league, but he wasn’t very productive outside of his scoring, as he recorded just one rebound and zero assists.
However, he exploded in his second game vs. the Miami Heat, recording 41 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and four blocks while shooting 55% from the field and 54.5% from three on 11 attempts.
Murray was awesome in these two summer league games as he put the ball in the basket at a high level, shot well from behind the arc, and was incredible at getting to the free-throw line. He wasn’t perfect, recording just one assist while turning the ball over eight times, but he was so dominant in these two games that he got shut down for the rest of the summer league because it was clear that he did not need to play.
Jalen Williams, a second-year player like Keegan Murray, had a strong start to the summer league as well, recording 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists while shooting 57.1% from the field and hitting three of five threes vs. the Utah Jazz. He didn’t have a crazy scoring outburst as Murray did in his second game, but Williams still looked amazing.
Unfortunately, Jalen Williams only played one game before being shut down for the rest of the summer league, but it’s still clear that he is an awesome player who really doesn’t need to be playing right now. The same can be said for Keegan Murray, and it will be interesting to see how these guys develop heading into their second season.