They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but when it comes to the 2024 NBA Summer League, our reporters are here to pull back the curtain and let you know. These mini-reports come to you from the Thomas & Mack Center, where Reed Sheppard made a strong first impression, the Wizards fielded the most inconsistent starting lineup of the weekend, and much more. With more basketball to come in Las Vegas, these are the five most interesting things we saw from the first weekend.
Reed Shepard may already be too good for summer league.
At first glance, Shepard looks like one of the many slacker game directors in Las Vegas hustling for his next contract. But from his first game in Summer League, the 20-year-old rookie already looked too good for an early July showcase. The No. 3 overall pick immediately showed unwavering confidence and command over the Rockets' offense, digging into the defense's strongholds with quick, decisive moves, quick reads and precise passes to the open man. Many of those players include reigning Summer League MVP Cam Whitmore, who is also too big and athletic for the competition. While Shepard's small size will be questioned, he is a surprisingly bouncy player (three blocks against the Lakers) and has great handles on defense (five steals against the Wizards). For a player who made more than half of his three-pointers in college, the shot will always be a trademark. In fact, his shot looks as smooth as advertised. But his deep shots feel like a bonus to his overall production and solid grasp of the game. Shepard is clearly suited to the NBA level. The question now may be how quickly he can win as a reserve for a very deep Rockets team.Justin Verrier
The Wizards' starting lineup underscores just how far the team's rebuild needs to go.
On Sunday against Houston, the Wizards started three of their 2024 first-round draft picks: No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, No. 14 pick Bub Carrington and No. 24 pick Ki'Sean George. Along with 2023 first-round pick Bilal Coulibaly (who will not participate in Summer League as he prepares to play for France in the Olympics), those three represent the Wizards' future.
Washington's long-awaited rebuild will be measured and slow. Sarr averaged just 9.4 points per game for New Zealand last season and remains very raw offensively, making just eight of 26 shots in two summer league games so far. Sarr is 19, Carrington is a week away from turning 18 and Koulibaly was drafted a year ago at 18.
Symbolically, the most intriguing member of Washington's summer league starters is 2022 No. 10 overall pick Jonny Davis. It's not a good sign for a lottery pick to still be a summer league player three years later, but Davis now finds himself in that position after disappointing first two seasons in which he was largely unknown. Thus far, he's split his playing time almost evenly between the NBA (1,036 minutes) and G League (1,029 minutes), averaging just 4.0 points and shooting just 39 percent from the field at the higher level.
Davis' disappointment highlights just how poor the Wizards' foundation was before this latest draft. The point guard out of Wisconsin was the Wizards' last first-round pick under Tommy Sheppard before they fired their general manager and replaced him with Michael Winger, and there's a reason for that. Before Davis, the Wizards drafted Corey Kispert, a good role player, and Deni Avdija, who developed into a solid two-way contributor, but the team traded Avdija to Portland this summer for a package that included the pick used to acquire Carrington.
But the rest of the Wizards roster is inexperienced, inconsistent and generally just not NBA ready. The best news for Sarr is that while he still has a long way to go before he develops to the level expected of a No. 2 pick, it could be just as long before the Wizards play another game that matters. And when he does, Sarr will need to be even better than he is now.Zach Crumb
Gregg Popovich is going to have a hard time keeping Stephon Castle off the court.
One of the joys of being part of the NBA elite is having the opportunity to introduce new faces to the basketball world, so I'll be the first to report it. Steffon Castle is truly amazing. There was no way to know this about one of the best players on the best team in college basketball last season, because the only true proving ground was summer league, the purest version of the game, free from the distractions of structure, game plans and on-court chemistry. The truth of Castle's game can be seen in a prestigious AAU tournament, or, even better, in one game of a prestigious AAU tournament before a wrist injury forced him to withdraw from the competition in Las Vegas.
But what a game it was. Even at the lower levels of summer league, Castle is an engine of instinctive, winning plays, connecting dots that lesser players can't see and making plays that lesser players can't. Questions about Castle's shooting and positioning are inevitable, but they're mostly beside the point. What's most striking about watching him against semi-pros is how hard it is to drag him off the court so early in his career. Why would the Spurs take a guard who makes impactful plays so naturally? Throw Castle into the mix and see what he can show us, whether it's clogging up opponents at the point of attack or slicing through a defense. Tool-mastering, theoretical players are fun, but so are players who make things happen almost by accident, as if that's life itself. —Rob Mahoney
Cam Whitmore is absolutely amazing.
Surprisingly enough, last year's Summer League MVP award didn't translate directly to NBA success for Whitmore: He didn't make the Rockets' main roster until early January, and even then, his range of touches was narrow: catch-and-shoot (where he was good) or attacking in transition or handoffs on the move (where he was really tough).
There are certain levels that certain players reach where their athleticism is so extraordinary that even a failed conversion sends shockwaves through the hall. Whitmore is definitely at that level. His production on both ends of the floor is reminiscent of early Westbrook. He is the most impressive all-around athlete in Las Vegas, and I don't think anyone can match that. Even when on-ball defenders get in his way on straight-line drives, he seems to flick them off like a running back who goes out of bounds and then speeds off to ping-pong to reporters. In one scene, he catches a so-so lob from Shepard (these two are probably the most entertaining duo overall) and is almost thwarted. Not only did Whitmore grab the ball at the apex of his jump over 6'10″ Colin Castleton, he seemed to regain his composure in the air, land with control, and then immediately jump again to score. I don't want to overreact, but most people would be dead if they tried this.
That superpower can make it hard for a player like Whitmore to unleash the best parts of himself while also recognizing when helpers are rushing in to thwart him, and he's still finding that balance. Cam had one of the worst assist percentages in the NBA last season, and in the two games I saw, his ability to get the ball to the second side was a mix of good signs and confusing bumps. But in a league of chefs and patrons, the Rockets have some Joey Chestnut-level gluttons, and I think Whitmore has the best chance of being both in the long run. —J. Kyle Mann
The Las Vegas Summer League remains a unique attraction.
Wizards vs. Rockets. Night 3. Shepard does his Lost Price Brother routine. This jersey is not draped over his corpse. Also, here are all the 3-point shots you all requested.
Jordan Poole, from Washington, is at Thomas & Mack. He has his back to the court, a swarm of fans in front of him, holding pens and phones and a basketball the size of a cantaloupe. They call his name. Over and over and over again — Jordan, Jordan, Jordan. Poole signs autographs for a while, smiles and is affable, then he's on his way again. The Michelob Ultra Courtside Experience is approaching. A woman stops him for a hug. Her boots are red sequined, the same color as the lenses of her sunglasses, the frames so huge they obscure her face. He keeps going, and 10 feet in, she stops him again. It's Quinn “Moose” Snyder. They dance. Snyder's hair glows a black opalescent. And then a faint chant, a name: “Draymond Green. Draymond Green. Draymond Green.”
Not the whole arena, not even most of it. About four people got about halfway through and started clapping and calling his name, screaming for help, but no one came. Poole kept his cool and didn't care, and the screaming stopped.Tyler Parker
