NBA Summer League tipped off in Las Vegas last Thursday and is set to run through next weekend with the champion being crowned Sunday night. While a lot of eyeballs will be on Cooper Flagg and the rest of the top draftees, there are numerous undrafted mid-major players who will be looking to leave their mark on the league and earn roster spots for this season.
So that got us thinking… which undrafted mid-major player will shine the most in NBA Summer League?
We asked, and you answered.
For betting odds, visit FanDuel.
Augustas Marčiulionis from Saint Mary’s received nearly half of the votes at 48%. He was followed by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (UC San Diego) and Tyson Degenhart (Boise State), who each claimed 22%. Yale’s Bez Mbeng came in fourth with the remaining 8%.
Marčiulionis is a two-time WCC Player of the Year and was named a Lou Henson All-American this season. He left SMC ranking in the top six for career assists (fourth), games played (fourth) and steals (sixth). The Lithuanian led the Gaels with career-bests 14.2 points and 5.9 assists per game.
He saw dramatic improvements over his four years in Moraga, Calif. The 6-foot-4 guard posted 3.1 points and 1.8 assists a night as a freshman in 15 minutes a contest. His scoring nearly doubled as a sophomore, but the big jump came as a junior. He raised his scoring to 12.4 points a contest along with 5.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 33.1 minutes a game.
The guard’s shooting improved each year too as he converted on 44.6% of his shots as a senior and 34.7% from 3-point range.
Marčiulionis signed with the Los Angeles Lakers after the NBA Draft but has yet to see the court in a Summer League game.
Degenhart left Boise State as one of the most decorated players in program history. The Broncos’ all-time leading scorer (2,037 points) was an All-Mountain West First Team selection each of the last three seasons. He was just the third player in MW history eclipse the 2,000-point mark.
The Spokane, Wash., product concluded his career in Boise first in school history for career minutes, second in field goals and games played, third in free throws and fourth in rebounds and field goal percentage. He increased his scoring each season and poured in 18.3 points a night as a senior.
Degenhart made his Summer League debut in the Toronto Raptors’ 116-72 win over the Chicago Bulls. He played five minutes and corralled one rebounds in that time.
Tait-Jones was a stud for UC San Diego this season as the Tritons burst onto the scene for the program’s first-ever Division-I conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. He ranked third in the Big West with 19.1 points per game, while leading the country in free throw attempts (297). He converted at a 75% clip from the charity stripe.
The Wellington, New Zealand, native scored in double figures in all but three games this season, including 24 straight. He also pulled down 5.4 rebounds and dished out 3.6 assists a game. The transfer from Hawai’i-Hilo was named conference player of the year.
He is still waiting to see his first action this summer with the Raptors.
Mbeng excelled on both ends of the floor for Yale. The three-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year garnered Player of the Year honors as a senior. He led the Ivy with 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game this season. He pulled down 5.6 rebounds a game (10th in the league) while contributing 13 points a night.
Mbeng tallied two rebounds in eight minutes with the Golden State Warriors back on July 6 in his Summer League debut. He has yet to play since.
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