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The NBA 2K23 Summer League in Las Vegas tips off tonight, as the other 22 teams begin to join the eight that have already been active in the Utah and California leagues.In the past week, we were treated to several rookies putting up awesome performances, including: No. 4 draft pick Keegan Murray going off for 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, No. 12 pick Jalen Williams combining for 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting through two games and even No. 27 pick Nikola Jovic scoring 25 on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
But no one garnered more excitement than Chet Holmgren. In his first game, on Tuesday, the 7-footer scored 23 points (7-of-9 FG) with seven rebounds, four assists and a summer-league record six blocks. People were absolutely losing their minds over his jaw-dropping performance.
Apparently on a GOAT track already, Holmgren’s odds to win Rookie of the Year started to move after just that one game. He even became the favorite at one sportsbook – before we even had a chance to see top overall pick Paolo Banchero or No. 3 pick Jabari Smith.
Listen, I just need everybody to relax. Holmgren is absolutely a unicorn and it was fun to see some of the things he can bring to the table. But this is summer league. He’s not the first to have a mind-blowing game, and he won’t be the last. We’re almost guaranteed to get a few more incredible games, and some of those players won’t sniff an actual NBA roster. The level of competition just simply doesn’t compare to what players will see in an actual NBA game.
The Magic and Rockets get things started in Vegas tonight, which means Banchero and Smith are likely to make their debuts against one another. It’ll be exciting, and we might even get a glimpse of some of the things that made them top draft picks. What we won’t know after tonight is who’s going to the Hall of Fame. Let’s just enjoy the basketball without the hyperbole.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
I had a chance to chat with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton about the team’s rebuild, his expanded role on the floor and his new partnership off the court. But one fun anecdote Haliburton shared with me was about a bet he made that really could’ve altered the direction of his life.
He had a two-month timeframe to land his first college offer. And if it didn’t come, he would’ve played football.
“My freshman or sophomore year of high school, I hadn’t got a Division I offer yet, I hadn’t got a scholarship offer yet. And everybody was just sweating me to play football, along with our football coach at the time. So I made a bet with him that if I didn’t have a scholarship offer in the next two months that I would go play football — and I did not want to play football at all. I really didn’t know if I was going to get a scholarship offer, and then I got one.”
Haliburton ended up going to Iowa State, but that first offer was from IUPUI — in Indiana. So the Pacers might have the local university to thank for putting Haliburton on a path to become their point guard today.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
New York Liberty (+160) at Phoenix Mercury (-4.5, -200), O/U 164.5, 10 PM ET
I’m picking the Mercury to cover the spread in a win. They’ll have to slow down Sabrina Ionescu, who just dropped a historic triple-double in a win over the Aces last night, but they should be up to it at home against a team playing the second night of a back-to-back.
Shootaround
— The Lakers may have pulled off the sneaky-best move of this NBA offseason
— Here’s a list of the 9 best free agents remaining
— Rudy Gobert gave a hilarious shoutout to Timberwolves fans at his introductory press conference
— You may have seen a Kenneth Lofton Jr. taking the floor for the Grizzlies in the summer league. And no, his dad isn’t who you’re thinking of
