Jonathan Kuminga and Mac McClung took their respective games to the next level on Sunday.
The 2022 NBA 2K23 Summer League will be held July 7-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus.
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LAS VEGAS — They finished the first weekend of the NBA 2K23 Summer League. Here are Sunday’s Summer League standouts:
Mac McClung, warrior
Mac McClung makes the incredible assist.
Hey, this is free agent season in the NBA, in addition to all the summer action at the UNLV campus gyms. So it was fitting that Mac McClung ripped it up for Golden State just before the Los Angeles Lakers played on the same court.
Just days earlier, McClung, a 6-foot-2-point guard with two games of NBA experience, played with the Lakers at the California Classic event in San Francisco. But he had to get off the bench behind other prospects and up-and-coming guards, so the 23-year-old product switched from Georgetown and Texas Tech to Warriors in Las Vegas for a bigger opportunity.
All McClung did was 22 points on a 9-for-15 shooting against San Antonio, with five rebounds, six assists, a steal and a blocked shot. He sparked two of the crowd’s loudest moments with highlight plays, including a hyperspeed behind-the-back pass for a fast-break bucket. And last season’s G League Rookie of the Year wowed players and fans alike with his energy bouncing.
Jonathan Kuminga, warrior
After a memorable debut on Friday (four points, 2-on-10 shooting), the Golden State youngster, a sophomore on the G-League elite roster, played as a points forward with Pippen-like flair this time. He averaged 28 points with seven boards and four assists and sunk 10 of his 22 field goal attempts. He had five turnovers — a couple of poor decisions that attempted to force the ball into James Wiseman’s middle — but he displayed both the size and skill that propelled the Warriors to pick him 7th in the 2021 draft pack.
Keegan Murray, Kings
Keegan Murray has shown poise beyond his years in quality performances in the Summer League.
Murray has demonstrated a silky 3-point shot so far and he hasn’t been shy about launching it against Indiana, taking 12 and making four. But his basketball shrewdness was also evident when it mattered—Murray’s last-minute cut down the left baseline and layup from Frankie Ferrari’s deft effort increased Sacramento’s lead to 100-96, and Murray’s foul added another point to defeat the game. The 6-foot-8 wing finished with 23 points before fouling and was up 19 in the seven-point win.
Cam Thomas, Nets
Thomas, Brooklyn’s 6-foot-4 guard who was born in Japan but honed as a hoopster at Oak Hill Academy and LSU, scored 26 points in the win over Philadelphia. Thomas and backcourt colleague David Duke Jr. (21 points) combined for 24 points in the second half, with the game’s only two players going into double figures in the final two quarters. Thomas came to the foul line for 15 free throws and hit them all.
Vernon Carey Jr., magician
Carey, a problem at 6-foot-9, 270 pounds, was double trouble against Phoenix’s entry. The big man scored 15 points and made his 7-for-7 mark from the line while beating the Suns on the glass for 11 rebounds. The other big one in Washington’s tandem, 6-foot-11 Jaime Echenique, helped make life difficult for the Suns with 12 points and six rebounds as the Wizards controlled the glass 42-34.
Quentin Grimes, Knicks
It wasn’t just his total score (24), it was Grimes’ efficiency. The New York shooting guard utilized just 14 field goal attempts and was a decent 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the line. Teammate Jericho Sims had 11 points and 10 boards as the Knicks played with the Bulls.
Ty-Shon Alexander, Hornets
A sprained right ankle had interrupted Alexander’s night in Charlotte’s opener on Friday. But the 6-foot-3 guard, who spent the 2020-21 season on a two-way contract with Phoenix, shrugged off any aftermath to record 22 points with six assists and a 4-of-9-3-point Accuracy in almost Sunday 30 minutes. However, it was left to teammate JT Thor to hit the sudden death 3 pointer in a 4-on-13 shooting night that defeated the Lakers in double overtime. It boded well for Charlotte’s first win in Vegas since July 5, 2019.
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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can email him here, his archive can be found here and Follow him on Twitter.
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