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Who were the best NBA rookies at the Las Vegas Summer League? Which young veterans performed best? And who was most disappointing?
Don't let anybody tell you there's no parity in the NBA ... summer league. The action in Las Vegas concludes Monday, when the last-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves will try to complete their unlikely run through the summer league tournament by beating the Chicago Bulls to win the championship.
However, summer league is really less about wins and losses than the development of the rookies and young players in action.
Let's take a look at the best (and some of the worst) on display over the past 10 days.
Best rookies
1. Kris Dunn | Minnesota Timberwolves
Sadly, Dunn hasn't been a part of Minnesota's Cinderella tournament run because of a concussion he suffered during his second game. Before then, however, Dunn was far and away the most productive rookie in Vegas. He had 48 points in his two appearances and shot 18-of-29 (62.1 percent) on 2-point attempts, living in the paint.
Perhaps most intriguingly, Dunn showed the ability to coexist with another point guard (Tyus Jones; more on him later), suggesting the Timberwolves should consider playing him with Ricky Rubio at times.
2. Tyler Ulis | Phoenix Suns
While Phoenix drafted a pair of players in the lottery (Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss), there's no doubt second-round pick Ulis was their most impressive player over the past week and a half.
Ulis posted an impressive 3.45 assist-to-turnover ratio, setting up teammates while taking care of the ball. While he had a more difficult time finishing over bigger defenders (Ulis shot 43.5 percent on 2-point attempts), he compensated for his small stature on defense with nearly three steals per game.
3. Jamal Murray | Denver Nuggets
Despite struggling to find the range from downtown (8-of-29, 27.6 percent), Murray looked a lot more like the current version of Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum than McCollum himself in his first summer league -- and that was after four years in college to Murray's one.
Murray isn't much of a playmaker out of the pick-and-roll -- he averaged just 2.4 assists per game -- but he's great at manipulating the defense to set up scoring opportunities. He made an even 50 percent of his 2-point attempts, many of them off the dribble.
Honorable mention: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Juancho Hernangomez, Denver Nuggets; Patrick McCaw, Golden State Warriors; Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers; Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Lakers
Most tantalizing rookie
Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers
Though he earned a spot on the All-NBA Summer League First Team, I'm not sure Simmons was actually one of the five best rookies on the court. He had more turnovers (21) than field goals (18) in his three games in Las Vegas (Simmons also played two games in the Utah Jazz summer league, which don't count here) and shot 41 percent from the field.
Like Emmanuel Mudiay last year, Simmons showed more promise than production, which is OK for a 19-year-old rookie.
Most disappointing rookie
Dragan Bender | Phoenix Suns
Spending much of his time on the perimeter -- partly because he started at small forward before Chriss was sidelined by illness -- Bender took two-thirds of his shots from 3-point range and made them at just a 26.5 percent clip. Though he showed promise as a passer, Bender had just five assists against 19 turnovers, and he predictably got pushed around on the glass.
Bender was the youngest player in Las Vegas -- he's more than two years away from being able to enter a casino -- so there's no reason for panic about his play, but he struggled more than I expected.
Best veterans
1. Tyus Jones | Minnesota Timberwolves
After Dunn was sidelined, Jones reminded everyone that the Timberwolves have three quality point guards on their roster. While his size is still an issue against NBA competition, Jones' skills shined through in Las Vegas.
He's capable of beating defenses as both as scorer and a playmaker depending on what they give him. Perhaps most impressive was Jones' ability to get to the free throw line -- he has shot 47 free throws in seven games. His production translated into results, with Minnesota pulling off four upsets in a row to reach the final.
2. Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns
Booker played just two games in Las Vegas, but that's all he needed to make everyone wonder why he was playing after earning All-Rookie First Team honors last season. None of the other four players on the All-Rookie First Team played summer league, though Nikola Jokic (national team) and Jahlil Okafor (knee surgery) didn't have the option.
Serving as a go-to guy in last year's second half has made Booker more polished and confident off the dribble, and he handed out 13 assists in addition to scoring 52 points in two games. Alas, Booker's infamously low steal rate carried over too -- he didn't have one in 67 minutes of action.
3. Norman Powell | Toronto Raptors
Like Booker, Powell could easily have begged out of summer league after starting games in last year's playoffs. Instead, he relished the opportunity to play a larger role than he did in Toronto.
That didn't always work -- Powell shot just 40.5 percent on 2-point attempts and had more turnovers (13) than assists (12). But he also made 12 3-pointers in five games at a 46.2 percent clip, and his fine defensive work gives him the nod over D'Angelo Russell (and his porous defense) for this spot.
Honorable mention: Trey Lyles, Utah Jazz; Jordan McRae, Cleveland Cavaliers; Bobby Portis, Chicago Bulls; Terry Rozier, Boston Celtics; D'Angelo Russell, L.A. Lakers
More summer league standouts
Best free agent: Christian Wood | Philadelphia 76ers
Technically, Wood is no longer a free agent, having parlayed his impressive run in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas into a two-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets.
Between the two leagues, Wood made 69.4 percent of his 2-point attempts, six 3s and got to the free throw line 37 times in six games. Wood is still a ways from harnessing that potential into NBA production, but he's much closer now than a year ago.
Honorable mention: Bryn Forbes, San Antonio Spurs (signed with San Antonio); Jonathan Gibson, Dallas Mavericks (signed with Dallas); Jameel Warney, Dallas Mavericks; Troy Williams, Phoenix Suns
Most disappointing veteran: Nik Stauskas | Philadelphia 76ers
While being asked to play summer league after your second season no longer carries the same stigma -- by my count, one-third of the first-round picks from 2014 played -- it's a bad sign when you don't stand out.
Stauskas, the highest-drafted player among that group (eighth overall) had 22 points on 7-of-20 shooting in his two-game cameo and generally failed to distinguish himself from the players trying to make teams.
Best shooter: Devin Booker
In the two games he played, Booker casually made six of his 10 3-point attempts. Ho hum. Gibson, who made a Vegas-high 17 3s at a 46 percent clip, was impressive in a larger sample.
Best rebounder: Alan Williams | Phoenix Suns
A year ago, Williams was my pick for best rookie in summer league. He passed on training-camp opportunities to play in China before joining the Suns for the stretch run. While not quite as impressive offensively this time around, Williams beasted on the glass, pulling down 23.1 percent of all available rebounds according to RealGM.com -- including an incredible 17.4 percent on the offensive glass.
Best playmaker: Ben Simmons
Led by Ulis, a handful of other players assisted teammates more frequently than Simmons. In terms of quality, however, nobody's dishes were better. Simmons dazzled with highlight passes to set up layups and open 3-point attempts, racking up few assists of the kind players get simply by running the offense or having the ball in their hands.
Best shot-blocker: Richaun Holmes | Philadelphia 76ers
Holmes' best rim protection actually came in Salt Lake City, where I believe he blocked a few of my tweets because he was just rejecting everything in sight. He came down to earth a bit in Vegas, but still averaged 2.5 blocks per game.
Best dunker: Troy Williams | Phoenix Suns
At one point after a thunderous putback, I told a colleague that Williams' nickname was "Helicopter." This does not appear to be the case, but maybe we should make it so. Williams spent much of his time in Vegas above the rim, at least when he wasn't hoping to prove to possible NBA suitors that he's also capable beyond the arc. (Williams shot 26.3 percent on 3-point attempts, but 74.1 percent on 2s, mostly dunks.)
Best hair: Atlanta Hawks
In the first round, the Hawks drafted DeAndre Bembry, whose Afro would not have been out of place in the NBA in the 1970s. In the second round, they added French guard Isaia Cordinier, who sports an impressive mop of hair in his own right. While the jury is still out on the production of Atlanta's rookies, their hair is already a steal.
<--- Me when my head hits the pillow
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