Ahh yes, the NBA Summer League is just around the corner and July 6 can’t come soon enough. The Summer League is the most influential and most exciting part to professional basketball. I love when players are fighting for a job in the NBA because the dynamic of the game is far different from the regular season. The competition is greater. The intensity of the game is like a 24-hour adrenalin rush, and every player is in the same boat whether you were drafted or not.
When a player is drafted to a franchise they’re guaranteed a roster spot, right? Wrong. The draft is there to select the best talent available and scouts all across the league have been basing their decisions off those players in college as well as team workouts. The Summer League is a vital part to what makes that final decision to confirm that a player is signed. For example, when Luka Doncic gets drafted to the Suns, he’ll go through the summer league for a few games before management can say “let’s sign him.” If he performs under par from what the organization wants, they could part ways with him. Understand that the NBA is a business, and no one is guaranteed a roster spot until they put pen to paper and sign that contract.
The way summer league is played and positioned is incredible. It gives not only players an opportunity to showcase their talent but coaches as well. Just take a look at what Becky Hammon did in the summer league last year. She became the first female coach in the NBA period, and she took that summer league team to the title. It creates opportunities for assistant coaches to flourish and display their coaching philosophies to the rest of the league. Lloyd Pierce was the assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer league, and now he looks to make his debut as the Atlanta Hawks coach. It speaks for itself doesn’t it?
As for players, you can never tell if they’ll be great or promising right out of the draft. There have been many players who went through the summer league not knowing their true potential. It can make or break you with the summer league being a small taste at what the NBA is really like.
How do you work as a team knowing your job is on the line? Simply knowing your role is significant come July 6. If a guy like Trae Young comes out of the gate and tries to do too much early and shoot himself out of the game, that looks bad on him. Now, if Young doesn’t do enough that’s on him as well. A thing to learn is that it’s all about balance and learning a system in the summer league. The guys who get drafted carry more weight than the undrafted players. That can dictate who the offense is run through at times.
Coaching and player performance are the two most influential pieces when it comes to the summer league. It’s all about making a strong impression, and for the guys who don’t get drafted, it’s much more than that. Expect great basketball to be played come July.