LAS VEGAS — If Svi Mykhailiuk is on the floor, he is a threat. At the Lakers’ Las Vegas Summer League opener, Philadelphia learned that he must have a defender on him at all times.
Using his lighting release, textbook mechanics and basketball IQ, the 47th-overall pick scored 17 points — shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers — to help guide the Lakers to a 96-79 rout.
Mykhailiuk drained some wicked shots against the 76ers, including a step-back out of pick-and-roll, a one-dribble pull-up and three transition 3-pointers.
“He’s gutsy,” Josh Hart laughed. “The gut, that’s probably the biggest thing (about him). He’s very confident. You saw. Some of the shots he hit today were just crazy. When you have confidence like that (and) when you can shoot the ball the way he can, good things happen.”
In his brief time with the Lakers, Mykhailiuk has flaunted the shooting ability that made him one of college basketball’s deadliest perimeter players. He has shot 47.6 percent from the field and 38.5 percent on 3’s in four summer games.
His release is so quick that he is able to get off clean shots even after fumbling the ball for a couple seconds on the fast-break.
“That dude is crazy — in a positive way, in a good way,” Moe Wagner said. “Sometimes I’m like: Wow. Because when you know him personally, he’s not like a very outgoing guy. He’s funny and stuff, but he’s not like the way he plays.
“His confidence is unbelievable. It’s a lot of fun to be on the court with him. He gets these rebounds that are very impressive for his size. He’s a very exciting player.”
For all of his shooting prowess, Mykhailiuk — as Wagner said — was just as impressive on the glass versus the Sixers.
He hauled down nine rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. That didn’t surprise summer league coach Miles Simon, who knew of Mykhailiuk’s underrated athleticism from three years of broadcasting Kansas games for ESPN.
“He gets these free runs to the basket, but his timing and the way he goes and seeks the basketball over defenders is really unique and special,” Simon said. “And he kept some big plays alive tonight that led to some open opportunities and extra scores and extra possessions.”
Mykhailiuk has shown his athleticism in other ways this summer league, notably with his abilities to drive on closing defenders and compete on defense himself.
But this ferocity on the glass was something new for a rookie who had more rebounds in one night in Vegas (nine) than in three games in Sacramento (eight).
“I don’t know, I just attacked,” Mykhailiuk said. “I just saw rebounds and (said), ‘Why not?’”