This year’s Summer League has been one of the more exciting ones in a long time. The top picks look as good as they were in college, last year’s rookie class is looking much more improved and even undrafted guys are looking like good pickups. Here is an article on the 2022-2023 Summer League standouts.
Sims is one of the most athletic players from last year’s draft. The high-flying center is averaging 13.5 points, 10 boards, 1.5 assists, one swat, and 3.5 turnovers a game on an astronomical 86% from the field and 38% from the line. Sims isn’t known to be a three-point shooter or good free-throw shooter, but boy can he catch lobs like the best of them. He is an uber-athletic center that is looking to be in Coach Thib’s rotation going into next season. The only problem is that the team re-signed Mitchell Robinson and brought in Isaiah Hartenstein. These signings severely hinder Sims’ chances of making a huge impact. Still, he’s still looking like an extremely nice steal for this team. His effort, defense and hustle will only help him in the long run.
Sharpe has a chance for some more minutes this year. It doesn’t help too much that Nicolas Claxton re-signed with the team, but Sharpe has looked sharp in this year’s Summer League. In the two games, he has averaged 10.5 points, 10.5 boards, 2.5 assists, three swipes and 1.5 blocks a game on 50% from the field and 50% from the line. The 20-year-old forward out of North Carolina has definitely shown some promise for this club. Whether he gets the playing time needed to succeed depends on what this team does with Kevin Durant. Durant has been the talk of the off-season after asking for a trade out of Brooklyn. Now if he were to have his wish granted and the Nets don’t receive frontcourt help in return, Sharpe could be looking a nice increase in playing time. Expect him to continue putting up nice numbers in the Summer League in the meantime.
Eason looks like a nice steal for the Rockets. The athletic forward out of LSU has shown a ton of promise, especially on the defensive end. He is averaging a very healthy 14 points, 12 boards, one dime, one steal, and 0.5 blocks a game on 41% from the field, 25% from three and 75% from the line. Eason is likely going to be a big part of the rotation in Houston, so expect him to contribute heavily. What’s even more exciting about this team is that Jalen Green, Josh Chistopher, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr. are all going to be a part of this core. This team is going to be so exciting to watch in the future.
Richards is another player that is having a pretty fun summer League this year. He is averaged 14.5 points, 10 boards, one dime, and 2.5 blocks a game on 63% from the field and 75% from the line. Richards is going to have a tough time finding some playing time in Charlotte this year. The depth at center is pretty vast as they just drafted Mark Williams and currently have Mason Plumlee and Kai Jones on the roster. Still, it never hurts to make a statement in Summer League.
