Stats, analysis, commentary
NBA summer league 2024 is in the books, and it offered some good stuff that optimists can focus on, as well as some worrying signals for the doom-and-gloomers.
The team’s best summer league performers, according to the numbers, were guys unlikely to play much for the NBA team — Erik Stevenson (in just 35 minutes), Taylor Funk, Justin Champagnie, and Johnny Davis (believe it or not). Jules Bernard was decent, as was 14th overall pick Bub Carrington.
Carrington made second team All-Summer League despite shooting just 29.0% on twos. His overall offensive efficiency was above average for summer league despite the inability to convert inside the arc because he shot well (for summer league) from three-point range, shot 86.4% from the free throw line (and got the line with some regularity), and produced 7.7 assists per 48 minutes on a 2.2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. Average for summer league was 1.3 to 1.
Pessimists rejoice — the team’s other draft picks (Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George) were unimpressive. In 119 summer league minutes, Sarr in particular gave worrywarts plenty of ammo. We’ll come back to him.
Positives
- Bub Carrington — At just 18-years-old, Carrington was Washington’s youngest summer league participant, and he’ll enter next season as the team’s youngest player. He had trouble finishing inside, but he also averaged 10.9 rebounds and 7.7 assists. The assists were expected. The rebounds were a welcome surprise from the 6-5 guard. Best of all — he competed every minute he was on the floor and played with some guile and craft. SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: 110. (Note: PPA is my all-around production metric. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better, and replacement level (though not much use in summer league) is typically 45.)
- Johnny Davis — The offense is still a worry point (though he shot decently from two and three-point range and avoided turnovers), but Davis at least provided a sketch of how he could become an NBA contributor. Specifically, he defended and rebounded (10.1 boards per 48 minutes). SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: 151
- Taylor Funk — Shot well from three, which builds on previous times (like last season in the G League) when he shot well from three. He can likely provide a large percentage of what Corey Kispert does — at least for a team tanking another year — which should increase the front office’s willingness to include Kispert in trade talks. (Real talk: the front office’s willingness should already be 100%.) SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: 228
- Jules Bernard and Justin Champagnie — Both played well. Champagnie in particular gave the impression of being too good/experience/savvy for summer league. SUMMER LEAGUE PPAs: 113 and 168, respectively.
Okay, let’s get worried
- Alex Sarr — The second overall pick’s offensive game was a horror show. His effective field goal percentage was 21.3%. Not a typo (at least not by me — the raw stats came from RealGM). That’s 23.3% on twos, and 11.8% on threes. At 7-1, he got to the free throw line just four times in 119 minutes. Bright side: he rebounded well (12.6 boards per 48 minutes), produced some assists and blocked shots (4.1 blocks per 48). The shooting is legitimately worrisome — the inability to make shots against summer league competition does not bode well when he steps up to the NBA. SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: -37
- Patrick Baldwin Jr. — He didn’t play much, but when he did, it wasn’t well. His 7.7 assists per 48 might have felt more impressive if they didn’t come with 6.4 turnovers. For an allegedly good shooter, he never seems to make shots. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the team release him in training camp. SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: -51
- Kyshawn George — On the positive side, George shot decently and did just enough playmaking and rebounding to make me think maybe. The defense was rough. And he committed 7.0 turnovers and 7.8 fouls per 48 minutes. Now, he’s unlikely to touch the ball enough at the NBA level to commit that many turnovers, but high foul rates are not encouraging. SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: 49
- Tristan Vukcevic — The contract situation was weird. The team seemed to have everything lined up to sign him to a cheap multiyear contract only to get him on a two-way. He got just 15 minutes in summer league, and wasn’t much good when he was out there. SUMMER LEAGUE PPA: -181
Here’s the summer league leaderboard (top 5 in various stat categories per 48 minutes and top Wizards player, minimum of 50 total minutes in summer league)
POINTS
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., MIA — 44.6
- Jordan Miller, LAC — 43.5
- Isaiah Wong, PHO — 42.9
- Julian Strawther, DEN — 40.5
- Adam Flagler, OKC — 40.2
Taylor Funk, WAS — 31.2
REBOUNDS
- Yauhen Massalski, SAS — 28.9
- Donovan Clingan, POR — 23.1
- Oscar Tshiebwe, IND — 22.3
- Jo Acuil, SAC — 20.2
- Tolu Smith, DET — 19.6
Alex Sarr, WAS — 12.4
ASSISTS
- Isaiah Stevens, MIA — 14.1
- Scotty Pippen Jr., MEM — 13.6
- Pat Spencer, GSW — 12.5
- Zavier Simpson, CHO — 12.5
- Tyler Kolek, NYK — 12.3
Bub Carrington, WAS — 7.7
STEALS
- Jaylen Clark, MIN — 7.3
- Jamaree Bouyea, SAS — 5.9
- Tyson Walker, PHO — 5.8
- Isaiah Miller, MEM — 5.7
- Cam Whitmore, HOU — 5.5
John Butler Jr., WAS — 2.7
BLOCKS
- Jamarion Sharp, DAL — 8.5
- Donovan Clingaon, POR — 8.0
- James Banks, CHO — 6.7
- Branden Carlson, TOR — 5.6
- Adem Bona, PHI — 5.5
PPA
- Dmytro Skapintsev, NYK — 306
- Tristan Da Silva, ORL — 301
- Orlando Robinson, HOU — 267
- Jaden Springer, BOS — 265
- Jordan Miller , LAC — 258
Taylor Funk, WAS — 228