Zion, Barrett light up NBA Summer League
Prized draft picks’ showdown helps fill house in Vegas, taking it to next level
The NBA world took a brief break from Kawhi Watch on Friday ahead of one of the most anticipated July basketball matchups ever.
Late in the evening, Zion Williamson, the most hyped No. 1 overall draft pick since LeBron James, and the New Orleans Pelicans took on Canadian R.J. Barrett, the No. 3 pick, and the New York Knicks.
Williamson and Barrett are close friends who were two of the most accomplished freshmen in Duke history while playing together this past season under Mike Krzyzewski.
Williamson, who was still 18 for his first game (well, Summer League is kind of NBA basketball if you squint enough), will turn 19 on Saturday.
The consensus national college player of the year is one of the most extreme combinations of athleticism and power to come along in years. He’s already the face of the Pelicans, in the wake of the departure of Anthony Davis.
Barrett, of Mississauga, turned 19 last month, and after being named the NCAA’s top shooting guard and a consensus All-American, is the new face of the Knicks. Their stature and all of the hoopla around the meeting were the reason the game sold out all 17,500 seats at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.
There have been 15 editions of Summer League in the desert and this scribe has been coming most years since 2012. While it’s become a bigger and bigger event every time, compared to its humble beginnings, Friday felt next level. Ben Golliver of the Washington Post reported that general admission day passes were being scalped for $80 and lower bowl tickets were reselling for over $400. Even media interest has risen, with a record 1,000 credentials being issued. Getting in to UNLV used to be easy. Now they need people directing traffic.
The Los Angeles Lakers being bad for so long — meaning their high lottery picks would constantly debut here — helped grow Summer League significantly. That buzz is gone, with the club no longer boasting any big-name youngsters, but James was in the house on Friday.
RAPTORS ON THE SCENE
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse arrived in Las Vegas on Friday in time to watch part of the team’s practice ahead of the team’s tournament debut on Saturday against Golden State in a bizarre Finals rematch. Nurse coached the team here last year as he tried to re-adapt to being a head coach, but this time has turned the reins over to his video co-ordinator, Jon Goodwillie.
Young forward OG Anunoby is on hand doing some work after missing the entire NBA playoffs due to injury, but will not be playing.
Canadian Chris Boucher, Malcolm Miller and Jordan Loyd are players with Raptors big team experience who will be suiting up here in Vegas.
Other players to watch include Dewan Hernandez, a six-foot-11 big man who was the team’s second-round draft pick, and Canadians Lindell Wigginton and Duane Notice, both six-foottwo guards.
HOLDING PATTERN
Leonard’s delayed decision is affecting the rest of the league. The NBA’s moratorium will lift at noon ET on Saturday and if Leonard hasn’t made his call by then, the Anthony Davis trade will be held up. So will another deal involving New Orleans, the signing of free-agent shooting guard J.J. Redick (because another trade involving Solomon Hill needs to happen first).
Several players can’t play at Summer League because trades that will send them to teams different than the ones they were drafted by are still pending based on where Leonard goes and how that affects the Lakers.
Many Raptors staffers took only a day off following the team’s championship parade before getting back to work. Any regrets about no down time? “We’ll take this every time. Every time,” one said. “Nobody’s complaining,” said another … Every second person seemed to be wearing Raptors gear at Pearson Airport, and there’s even a big Raptors logo on the floor in one part of Terminal 3 and slogans on the walls. There was a lot of Kawhi talk on the plane ride to Las Vegas … Ottawa native Marial Shayok, a second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers, scored 19 points in his summer debut … This was the second year all 30 teams participated, with the Chinese and Croatian national teams also playing.