Rookies Steal the Show at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
A Look at the Top Standout Performers and Surprising Breakouts from the opening weekend of 2024 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
The NBA Summer League started Friday night, and we’ve already witnessed memorable rookie highlights, standout performances, and unfortunately, a season-ending injury to DaRon Holmes.
Most rookies from the 2024 draft class have appeared in at least two games. Here are the five players who have impressed me the most.
First, a few caveats:
While the sample size is incredibly small for these rookies, it’s natural to form opinions based on what we’ve seen.
Before Vegas, the 2024 draft crop was considered weak as it is sandwiched between the Victor Wembanyama-led 2023 group and the highly anticipated Cooper Flagg/Ace Bailey class of 2025.
Now, after observing most of the top prospects in Vegas, I’m pretty optimistic that the 2024 class will outperform expectations.
However, it’s just Summer League, and in years past, we’ve seen that Summer League is not necessarily an accurate indication of the future.
My go-to example is the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League, where Josh Selby was named co-MVP with Damian Lillard in a tournament that featured Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal, and Klay Thompson.
So, I’ve learned to pump the brakes and slow down before getting too excited over July exhibition games. That said, here are my top rookies so far.
In my next piece, I’ll focus on the sophomores who have shined in Vegas.
Reed Sheppard
Kentucky guards have a history of showcasing more game in the pros than they were allowed to show in John Calipari’s everyone-must-sacrifice-and-put-the-team-first system, and Reed Sheppard appears to have been held back in his lone freshman season in Lexington.