Former Kansas guard Jalen Wilson used his 2023 stint in the Summer League to show he belonged in the NBA, and he served well as a role player for the Brooklyn Nets during the ensuing season.
Returning to Las Vegas this time around, he took his production one step further. The NBA announced Monday evening that Wilson received the title of Summer League MVP.
In five games with the Nets, with a 3-2 record, he averaged 21.8 points, while shooting a whopping 55% from beyond the arc, and 4.6 rebounds in just under 30 minutes per game. Against Orlando on Thursday, he racked up 33 points with 6-for-7 shooting from deep, added 10 rebounds for a double-double and drove in for the contested game-winner in overtime.
“Just been trying to attack the entire summer, see the opportunity that we all have, and I just want to make the most of it every single day,” Wilson told reporters after the win.
Of the summer as a whole, he said on Sunday: “I thought it was great. We had a really good group that won some really good games, some games that maybe we weren’t supposed to win we found a way to win, so I think it was just fun to come out, compete and show how much better we’ve gotten this summer.”
Oddly, despite receiving MVP honors, Wilson was only a second-team all-league selection, the same level he reached during last summer’s competition.
Even so, Wilson has positioned himself well for a role on the rebuilding Nets entering his second season of pro ball. Other former Jayhawks found themselves trying to reestablish their own positions in the league, or hit the ground running as rookies. Here’s more on how everyone performed over the course of July. (Note that Kevin McCullar Jr., drafted by New York, did not play due to his ongoing injury issues.)
Parker Braun heads toward the basket during Denver Nuggets practice.
Parker Braun
The onetime KU reserve center saw minimal action for the Denver Nuggets during his stint in Las Vegas.
He did not play in three of the five games, but grabbed four rebounds while going 0-for-2 from the field in his debut on July 16, and saw his most extensive action on Saturday against New Orleans, when he played nearly 17 minutes with two points, four rebounds, three assists and a block.
“I think just versatility, just being able to do a little bit of everything on the court, whatever’s asked of me,” Braun told reporters on July 11, asked to describe his play style. “It might not be flashy, but I think making winning plays, even if you’re not making shots or you’re not kind of being the loudest player out there, just being able to make winning plays on both ends of the floor.”
Even though his brother Christian wasn’t playing in the Summer League, Braun said it was “obviously special getting to put (the Nuggets jersey) on and just kind of follow in his footsteps.”
Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji
Dick only played the first two possible games of his sophomore Summer League with the Toronto Raptors, reportedly missing time later on due to a right ankle sprain. While he struggled in his 12 minutes on July 14, he had begun the competition with a strong, well-rounded showing a day earlier, scoring 19 points (albeit on 6-for-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds and six assists.
“I’m always trying to grow my game,” Dick told reporters on July 11, “and I feel like I’ve been talking about it since high school, not trying to be classified as just a shooter, and try to show my array of different (parts) of my skill set.”
His more veteran teammate and fellow former Jayhawk Agbaji was back in Las Vegas for a third straight year in the Summer League with a third different team, after the Raptors acquired him from Utah midway through the 2023-24 season.
“Similar styles, offensively, but I think coming here and being with the team and playing with (head coach Darko Rajaković), I think he brings a different energy,” he told reporters on July 16. “And I loved that about him right when I first got here.”
In four Summer League games, Agbaji earned four starts but averaged a modest six points and 4.8 rebounds.
Johnny Furphy of the Indiana Pacers goes up for a dunk during a game against Minnesota on Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Johnny Furphy
The one-and-done rookie, who fell to the Indiana Pacers in the second round, got plenty of time to demonstrate the skills that had made him a highly touted NBA Draft prospect in the first place, including his capacity for movement without the ball and his athleticism. While he wasn’t especially efficient as a shooter (37% overall, 28.6% from beyond the arc), he still managed to average 14 points, six rebounds and 1.8 steals in his first taste of professional action.
“I’m always looking to just stay aggressive,” he told reporters on July 14, after his best showing of the Summer League (18 points and eight rebounds against Minnesota). “That’s kind of my mindset heading into these games, just trying to be as aggressive as possible and just trying to rebound and defend.”
He said that learning to defend pro players is a “big adjustment.”
“Very quick, very physical,” he said on July 16, “so really just kind of learning how to use my length effectively, and no blow-bys.”
Marcus Garrett
Garrett entered the Summer League with a different background than most of his fellow Jayhawks, previously having played briefly for the Miami Heat and now attempting to work his way back into the NBA after a year in the G League with the Greensboro Swarm.
He was named to the Charlotte Hornets’ Summer League roster even before Las Vegas — when they were playing in the California Classic exhibition — but didn’t see his first action until July 16, when he scored 10 points in 14 minutes against Denver, and followed that up with another 10 to go with five rebounds versus Boston.
After a down game against Portland, Garrett, primarily known for his defensive prowess, managed to return to double-digit scoring in the Summer League finale against Wilson and the Nets, adding four steals and five rebounds to 12 points in a team-high 30 minutes of action.
“I kind of started off camp slow, I ended up being sick,” Garrett told reporters on Sunday. “It’s been great for me, I had a lot of fun, I love being around the coaches and the players, and this is a lot of fun.”
AP Photo/Matt Kelley
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