Sacramento’s Keegan Murray lost 29 points to Chet Holmgren and OKC in Wednesday’s Summer League matchup.
LAS VEGAS – Here’s a quick recap of Wednesday’s top performances in the NBA 2K23 Summer League, which took place at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion:
Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
Keegan Murray continues his impressive Summer League season with 29 points, seven rebounds and four steals against the Thunder.
No doubt Murray will face adversity during his rookie season, even if he’s a legitimate potential No. 4. But by this point almost every summer league performance looked similar. As the Kings’ 86-80 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder showed, Murray will score a lot (29), shoot efficiently (9 of 17), grab some rebounds (seven) and grab a few steals (four). ).
Murray didn’t like the Kings losing. But Sacramento’s loss on Wednesday had little to do with him. His three turnovers were a byproduct of his aggressiveness. Though Murray hopes his strong game will actually lead to regular-season wins, that part doesn’t need to be questioned in a Summer League matchup.
Sandro MamukelashviliMilwaukee Bucks
Sandro Mamukelashvili recorded a big double-double (18 points, 15 reps) to lead Milwaukee to victory over Minnesota
It was perhaps a big challenge for Mamukelashvili to take on a heavy role early last season when Brook Lopez suffered a back injury. But the Mamukelashvili seems poised to take on more than minutes in the NBA. After becoming the center of attention with G League’s Wisconsin Herd last season, the 6-foot-9 forward center looks like a versatile big man.
In the Bucks’ 87-75 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Mamukelashvili showed his all-around game as a goalscorer (18 points), rebounder (15) and playmaker (four assists). He seemed just as comfortable taking a 3 as he was pounding inwards. And his confidence showed right away whether he was running on the floor or half courts.
Bryce McGowens, Charlotte Hornets
No matter what he did with the ball, McGowens became a threat. He dumped 3s with a soft touch and drove onto the rack with aggressiveness.
In the Hornets’ 91-80 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, McGowen’s level of comfort showed as he scored 24 points shooting 7-on-10 from the field. He was near perfect from deep (5-for-6) and from the free-throw line (5-for-6). McGowens recorded just one assist, but he didn’t force too many shots.
The Hornets, who had acquired the draft rights to McGowens, the 40th overall pick, of Minnesota, signed the 6-foot-7-guard-forward two-way contract. So expect the McGowens to continue developing his representatives in the G League and occasional NBA games next season.
Deividas Sirvydis, Pelicans from New Orleans
New Orleans’ Deividas Sirvydis scored a game-high 25 points against Washington
Sirvydis looked like a seasoned vet as he shot the ball, shared the ground and ran up and down the pitch. The result? In the Pelicans’ 106-88 win over the Washington Wizards, Sirvydis seemed to do it all, scoring efficiently (25 points) from field (9 for 17) and from deep (6 for 10), adding five rebounds and stealing two.
Sirvydis’ career hasn’t gone as planned since the Detroit Pistons picked him with a 37th overall pick in the 2019 draft. After serving as a draft-and-stash and playing professionally in Israel, Sirvydis secured a three-year deal with Detroit, only to be waived after the 2020-21 season. Since then, Sirvydis has played with the Pistons’ G-League partner in between two 10-day contracts.
While it’s potentially dangerous to take too much out of the Summer League game, Sirvydis has shown he deserves at least more opportunities to get his big break.
DJ Wilson, Toronto Raptors
Expect Wilson to be part of the Raptors’ rotation.
Toronto signed him to a multi-year deal after serving three 10-day contracts this season. Wilson is part of the Raptors’ Summer League team more for added rep than actual talent evaluation.
DJ Wilson was there #NBASummer Action today 🌞🏀@Lanky_Smoove: 22 PTS, 9 REB, 3 15 PM pic.twitter.com/l0kfDb4VPP
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2022
But Wilson sure did look sharp in the Raptors’ 80-74 win over the Utah Jazz. He had 22 points with a 7-for-12 clip and a 3-for-6 mark from deep and nine rebounds.
Matt Mitchell, Denver Nuggets
Matt Mitchell accumulates 17 points with five 3-pointers in Denver’s wire-to-wire win over LA.
Mitchell may have earned a two-way contract with the Nuggets.
In Denver’s 80-75 win over the LA Clippers, Mitchell had 17 points while going 6-12 from the field and 5-10 from deep, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. This performance showed why the Nuggets were intrigued by his great versatility as a shooter, post-up player, rim protector and more.
Mitchell played abroad in France last season after playing for San Antonio’s Summer League team in 2021. Before that, the 6-foot-6 small forward had a productive four-year college career in San Diego State. The common thread running through all of these stops: Mitchell received quality instruction to focus on the basics. Denver will certainly value someone of Mitchell’s caliber next season as both a productive practice player and a body should their coaching staff become overstuffed.
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Mark Medina is a Senior Writer/Analyst for NBA.com. You can email him here, find his archive here, and follow him on twitter.
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