2017 NBA Summer League

• 1. Introduction

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  The 2017 NBA Summer League spread across three cities and three separate competitions in July. Orlando opened the circuit on the 1st of July. Utah followed two days later with its own round-robin event. Las Vegas closed the series on the 17th of July.

  Sixty-seven games were played in Las Vegas alone at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Paradise, Nevada. Twenty-four teams entered that flagship event. Among the players competing were Lonzo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Kuzma. The two weeks of play posed a consistent question: which young players were ready for the NBA?

• 2. Orlando's Opening Week

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  Officially named the Mountain Dew Orlando Pro Summer League, this week-long event ran from the 1st to the 6th of July. Eight teams competed at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

  Four points went to the winner of each game; winning a quarter earned one additional point. A tied quarter split that point equally between the two sides. Teams carried those incentives into every period of play before championship day arrived.

  Dallas Mavericks swept through the week at 5-0 and won the championship. Miami Heat finished at the opposite extreme with a 0-5 record. Okaro White of Miami led all Orlando scorers at 19 points per game, despite his team's winless campaign. Bam Adebayo, also of Miami, averaged 17.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Daniel Hamilton of Oklahoma City Thunder topped the assists chart with 6.8 per game.

• 3. Utah's Third Summer

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  In its third year, the Utah Jazz Summer League hosted four teams from the 3rd to the 6th of July. Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs each played the other three teams once in a round-robin schedule.

  Utah won all three of its games and finished first. Bryn Forbes of San Antonio led all scorers at 21.3 points per game. Markelle Fultz of Philadelphia and Dante Exum of Utah each averaged 20 points per game. Jayson Tatum of Boston averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

  Jaylen Brown, Tatum's Boston teammate, led the tournament in rebounding at 10.5 per game. Dante Exum topped the assists column at 6.3 per game. Donovan Mitchell of Utah averaged 3.3 assists across his three Utah games, a number that would look different one week later in Las Vegas.

• 4. Las Vegas at Scale

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  Three preliminary games beginning the 7th of July set the seeding for the Las Vegas single-elimination tournament. The top eight seeds received a first-round bye. Each franchise played at least five games in total.

  Toronto Raptors finished the preliminary round at 3-0 with 9.5 quarter-points, claiming the top seed. Los Angeles Lakers went 1-2 and entered the bracket as the fifteenth seed.

  The Lakers advanced through each stage of the tournament. Portland Trail Blazers also worked through the field and reached the championship game. Los Angeles defeated Portland in the final. Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies both fell in the semifinals.

  Brandon Ingram of the Lakers averaged 26 points per game, as did Bryn Forbes of San Antonio Spurs. Matt Costello of Minnesota Timberwolves led the field in rebounding at 12 per game. Caleb Swanigan of Portland Trail Blazers averaged 10.6 rebounds per game. Lonzo Ball led all passers with 9.3 assists per game.

• 5. Honors from the Desert

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  Lonzo Ball was named Tournament MVP at the Las Vegas event by a panel of media members. Ball anchored the All-Summer League First Team alongside John Collins, Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr., and Caleb Swanigan. Collins played for Atlanta Hawks, Jackson for Phoenix Suns, Smith Jr. for Dallas Mavericks, and Swanigan for Portland Trail Blazers.

  Ball's Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma received the Championship Game MVP award. Kuzma was also named to the All-Summer League Second Team. His Second Team companions were Cheick Diallo, Bryn Forbes, Wayne Selden Jr., and Jayson Tatum. Diallo played for New Orleans Pelicans, Forbes for San Antonio Spurs, Selden Jr. for Memphis Grizzlies, and Tatum for Boston Celtics.

  Donovan Mitchell of Utah Jazz averaged 28 points per game to lead all Las Vegas scorers. The media panel did not name him to either All-Summer League team.