The 10 Most Concerning Summer League Performances

Summer league is fantastic competition for a multitude of reasons.  Old vets determined to prove they're worth a vet min contract vs 19-year-old top-10 rooks with their first taste of profession basketball.  2nd-round bubble players vs 2nd-year rehabbing pros.  The sample size is small, but let's take a look at some of the more undeniably bad performances of 2021 NBA Summer League:

[Important note: nearly all stats listed have been extrapolated to per 36 minute averages]

#10: Kai Jones - Charlotte

Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images

Kai was the 19th pick of the draft last month.  While 13 points and and 12 rebounds per 36 looks good, 3.8 turnovers and 40% shooting including 17% from 3 does not.  With that said, the 6'11" 20-year-old did shoot 90% from the charity stripe which is promising.

#9: Keon Johnson - Los Angeles (Clips)

Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The 21st pick in the draft, Mr. Johnson had a rough showing in 5 games in Vegas.  The 19-year-old point guard shot an abysmal 29% from the field including 20% from 3 and 60% from the stripe.  The 7.5 rebound per 36 looks good for a guard, but the 2.6 dimes is concerning.

#8: Killian Hayes - Detroit

Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

After a disappointing, albeit injury-riddled, first season in the League, Killian did not inspire confidence in the 3 games he played in Vegas.  He managed to score only 8.2 points per 36 mins, ranking #293 out of the 300 players qualified.  That would be fine if he made up for it in other areas but...alas...32% shooting, 4.3 turnovers, 5.2 fouls.  Woof.

#7: Franz Wagner - Orlando

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There's been a lot of hype over the 19-year-old German snagged at #8 in the draft.  Time will tell whether or not his first summer league was indicative of bust status.  In truth, there was only one statistic that really jumped out for Franz' summer league line and that was this:  the man shot 5.4 3's per 36 and made just 15% of them.  Double that percentage and Franz is nowhere near this list, but as it stands he put up a -4.0 Box Plus Minus in 4 games, good for 230th place in summer league.

#6: Tre Mann - Oklahoma City

Credit: David Bowie - GatorCountry

Though he only appeared in 2 games, he still received more than 50 minutes and was drafted #18 overall, so we had to include him in the list.  The 6'5" guard out of Gainesville, FL put up a -8.2 Box Plus Minus in 56 minutes, good for 291st out of 300.  Real bad.  Mann shot 24% from the floor and 0-for-6 from 3.

#5: Cole Anthony - Orlando

 Credit: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

When you have over 1200 professional minutes under your belt you should NOT be out-performed by 250+ kids at summer league.  Yet, 3.5 turnovers, 29% shooting and an otherwise blah showing in Vegas will not do Cole an favors fighting for playing time this year in Orlando.  BPM: -6.4

#4: Ziaire Williams - Memphis

Credit: Darren Yamashita - USA TODAY Sports

Touted by many as a steal during this year's draft, the #10 overall pick struggled mightily in 4 games.  While his counting stats weren't terrible, the 19-year-old shot 38% including 20% from 3 (6.6 3PA per 36).  Overall, his BPM clocked in at -5.2, good for 255th out of 300 qualified players.

#3: RJ Hampton - Orlando

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Orlando truly must be feeling some heat with these summer performances.  Hampton managed an almost-impressive 4.9 turnovers per 36 as a non-primary ball handler.  That, combined with 32% shooting and pedestrian defensive numbers puts RJ's BPM at -7.1, 280th out of 300 qualified players.

#2: Corey Kispert - Washington

Credit: Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review

When you draft a player that's already 22 you hope that they can contribute and look the part almost immediately.  For Kispert this was not, and likely will not be, the case.  Per 36 minutes, the #15 overall pick recorded 13 points (ok), 3.4 rebounds (bad), and .7 assists (real bad), on 36% shooting.  The all-around gross performance scored Kispert a BPM of -8.0, ranking 289th out of 300.

#1: Evan Mobley - Cleveland

Credit: Rick Scuteri / Associated Press

Ya hate to see another high Cleveland draft pick underachieving.  Per 36, the 7-footer recorded 14 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2.1 blocks per game.  Not bad, right?  We'll take that!  A double-double!  Heck yes.  Cleveland fans, I advise you to stop reading now...

... I warned you...

35% shooting (oof)

13% from 3 (yikes)

50% from the stripe (ouch)

4.1 turnovers (yeesh)

5.4 fouls (wow)

While not quite as bad of a performance as some on this list, the fact that Mr. Mobley was drafted #3 overall in this years draft puts him at #1 on the 'Most Concerning' list.  BPM: -6.4, 274th of 300.

The biggest takeaway seems to be that many of these numbers are surprising when you watch the 10 minute extended highlights.  Those clips give you glimpses of player potential, which seems to be more often then not why a player is in the league at all.  However, when you take a big step back and look at then entire body of work the full picture starts to come into focus.

Obviously, with that said this sample size is tiny and many of these performances could mean nothing at all so take this with a grain of salt but maybe, just maybe...adjust the level of expectations for these kids.