NBA Summer League Report: Top Rookie Performers from Sacramento and Salt Lake City
Plus my thoughts on the development of Dominick Barlow, Julian Champagnie and the Hornets 2021 NBA Draft class
The 2023 NBA Summer League kicked off in two locations as ten teams played Monday night in Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
Initially, I only planned to discuss the performances of the top rookies, (sophomores and Chet Holmgren will come tomorrow) but couldn’t help myself and wanted to share my opinion on the most anticipated matchup from opening night of the 2023 summer league schedule.
Although Charlotte and San Antonio are set to square off Friday in Las Vegas with No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama making his debut against No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, the Hornets, and the Wembanyama-less Spurs met Monday night in Sacramento to kick off the fifth annual California Classic.
Unfortunately, the Hornets looked like they had just met minutes before the opening tip-off reminding me of my days coaching AAU basketball when having enough players outweighed the importance of roster construction. It's summer league, so I understand it's natural to overreact, and in reality, the team only had a few practices before playing, but Charlotte looked bad. Really bad.
The Hornets were down 32-11 after the first quarter with Dominick Barlow and Justin Champagnie, who both played last season on two-way contracts, outscoring Charlotte's starting five, which featured four first-round picks.