The NBA 2K23 Summer League showcases the first professional experience for many of this year’s draft picks, giving us a glimpse at what they may look like on the big stage in the fall. It’s also its own environment, so there’s not a direct 1-to-1 correlation between being productive in Vegas and being productive in the NBA. I mean, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right?
Not necessarily. While there are many other factors besides pure summer league production to consider when evaluating a player’s fantasy basketball prospects, performance in Vegas does give some valuable insight. By looking at not just what a player did in Vegas, but also how he did it, and combining that with the fit, opportunity and likely rotations of the team that he’ll be playing for in the fall, we can start to refine our estimates for what their fantasy prospects might be.
Whose performances in Vegas did the most to help their fantasy basketball prospects, suggesting they might be ready to contribute, right now, to your points and/or roto teams? Let’s discuss.
It caught many people by surprise when the Magic selected Banchero No. 1 overall in the draft. After the show he put on out in Las Vegas, Banchero put all that to rest in a hurry.
Banchero played in two games, and faced a fellow top-4 pick in both matchups. In the first game, he faced off with Jabari Smith Jr. — the previously presumptive top overall pick that slid to the Rockets at No. 3 — then in his second he faced No. 4 pick Keegan Murray of Sacramento, who went on to win the NBA summer league MVP.
Banchero was visibly the best player on the court in both games, in ways that went beyond the 20.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.0 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 1.0 3PG and 1.0 BPG that he put up in his 30.1 MPG. For me, the summer league is more about how a player gets his than anything else. And Banchero displayed several skills that should translate directly to production at the next level.
The Duke product has been touted as a big man that could handle the ball, but in Vegas he played borderline point-forward. He routinely brought the ball up the court, set up the offense and ran the play from out top. He has the handle to run the pick-and-roll as the ball-handler, as well as the size and scoring…
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