The NBA Summer League is a time for players to prepare for the speed of an NBA game. In years past, some of the best statistical summer league stars did not translate their games to the NBA.
Some of the most impressive players of the 2017 NBA Summer League are not who many thought they would be. This summer league is filled with lots of depth and future NBA stars.
Here are the top five players who have turned heads in this year’s NBA Summer League.
Bryn Forbes
Somewhat of an expected star in this year’s summer league is Bryn Forbes. Forbes is an undrafted second-year player out of Michigan State.
Forbes is a member of the San Antonio Spurs’ summer league team and has blossomed into a very lethal scorer.
In the summer league, Forbes is averaging 23.7 points per game, while shooting 43.6 percent from the field. Bryn is also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists per game.
He was a known 3-point sniper out of college, and he has added an off-dribble game and has become even more difficult to guard.
Forbes is not a stranger to shining in the summer league, being that he shined almost as bright as a rookie in last year’s preseason.
Forbes could make the step into being a consistent rotation player for the San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich.
Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell is the 13th overall pick and has had possibly the best summer league of anyone so far. The extremely athletic guard has impacted the game in many different ways.
In the games this summer, Mitchell is averaging 26.4 points on 39.6 percent shooting. Donovan is averaging 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game.
Mitchell has been more offensive-minded after developing his game in his two years at Louisville.
He also has the summer league-high this year with 37 points. In that same game he also had eight steals to show how complete of a player he is.
He has also nearly doubled his point totals in each of his last three years of basketball.
Mitchell is the definition of a player with a high ceiling. He seems to be just scratching the surface of the things that he can do for the Utah Jazz.
Jayson Tatum:
Tatum is the No. 3 pick in the 2017 draft. Tatum has lived up to his summer league hype, by both scoring and ball handling for the Boston Celtics.
In the summer, Tatum is averaging 18.2 points on 44.6 percent shooting. Jayson is also grabbing 8.8 rebounds and has 1.5 assists a game.
Tatum has done a little bit of everything for the Celtics. He has made some big shots in the fourth quarter and has also shown he can score off the dribble.
He also has shown that he is a very good rebounding small forward, which is the Celtics’ biggest problem.
Tatum will have to adjust to an off-ball game when the regular season starts, due to Isaiah Thomas, but for right now he is showing that he has a more complete game than people thought.
Dakari Johnson
Johnson is in his third NBA season. Dakari was the 48th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and a former Kentucky Wildcat.
Dakari was a very proven D-league (now G-league) player, turning in an All-Star campaign in 2017.
Johnson is a very physical post player who scores almost all his points around the rim.
No stranger to the summer league, Johnson has 18.5 points on 56.9 percent shooting in four games. He also has 5.5 boards and 1.8 assists per game.
Although Johnson is not rebounding as well this summer as he typically does, he is showing that he can dominate the paint and could help be a rotation big man for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bam Adebayo:
Adebayo is the 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Bam is a 20-year-old former Kentucky Wildcat that can really protect the rim.
After not having many plays drawn up for him at Kentucky, Bam is trying to prove himself as an offensive weapon.
This summer he is averaging 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Miami Heat.
One of his weaknesses is his free throw shooting and his foul trouble.
Bam is a strong defensive presence and can really provide value standing alongside Hassan Whiteside for the Miami Heat.
Bonus: Okaro White
White is out of Florida State and is complimenting Bam on the Miami Heat summer league team. Okaro is a very good shooter who can stretch the floor.
He is averaging 19 points on 37.7 percent shooting. He averages 8 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game this summer.
As the league shifts to the more athletic big man that can guard pick and rolls and shoot the three, Okaro White’s stock is continuing to rise.
As the NBA regular season is approaching, players are searching to make rosters in the summer league. Some of the players who have impressed the most may not translate into stardom when they start playing against the serious talent.
In a league where players are trying to adapt to the speed and skill of the next level, these six players have impressed the most so far in the 2017 NBA Summer League.
Featured Photo Courtesy of NBA.com
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