Lakers Summer League: The Kids Can Play

The NBA 2K23 Summer League came to an end Sunday afternoon with the Portland Trail Blazers defeating the New York Knicks, 85-77, in the championship game.

While the Lakers were unable to come away with the tournament’s big prize, the young group provided a glimpse into the Purple and Gold’s bright future.

Prior to playing in Las Vegas, L.A. took part in the 2022 California Classic Summer League, hosted by the current champion Golden State Warriors. Joined by the Warriors, Miami Heat, and Sacramento Kings, the Lakers opened Summer League play with a bang and picked up a dominating, 100-66 win over the Heat.

The team shot 47.1 percent from the field, knocked down 27 of their 32 free throw attempts (Heat went 11-of-19), and held Miami to just 22 points in the paint (L.A. scored 32 interior points). Paris Bass (15), Scotty Pippen Jr. (14), and Cole Swider (13) finished with double-digit points, and each added six rebounds on the night.

On the second day of the back-to-back, the Lakers showed no signs of fatigue as they took down the Warriors in front of their home crowd, 100-77.

Pippen Jr. and Swider once again had solid performances and were both instrumental in the 23-point victory. Pippen Jr. scored 15 points, dished out eight assists, and tallied three steals, while Swider knocked down 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points on top of three rebounds.

Jay Huff was the only other Laker to finish in double figures with the big man registering 10 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in 16 minutes.

On the final day in the bay, Los Angeles faced the Sacramento Kings as both teams looked to finish undefeated in the California Classic. Unfortunately for the Lake Show, the Kings were just a little bit better on this day and picked up the 87-75 victory.

Some bright spots in the loss included Javante McCoy (15 points) and Paris Bass (13 points), who each hit six of their attempts from the field, as well as Vitto Brown, who scored 13 points and grabbed four boards in 22 minutes.

California Classic Scoring Leaders (min 3 games played/AVG):

The Lakers finished 2-1 in San Francisco as the team shifted gears to Las Vegas for the remainder of Summer League.

The change of scenery was not kind from the get-go, as the team would drop its first two games to the Phoenix Suns (lost 104-84) and a double overtime stunner to the Charlotte Hornets (lost 89-86).

In the opening loss to Phoenix, Scotty Pippen Jr. was once again making his case to join the senior squad by the time Opening Night rolls around in October. The rookie out of Vanderbilt scored a team-high 19 points, brought down four rebounds, and recorded three assists and steals each in 24 minutes.

Against Charlotte two nights later, Los Angeles led by as many as 15 during the game and held leads in the final minute of both regulation and overtime. But the Hornets remained relentless forced a first overtime and promptly forced a sudden-death double overtime (something only done during Summer League).

Pippen Jr. missed a potential game-winning three on the first possession of the second OT and the Hornets swiftly drove to the other end of the court and snagged the win with a three of their own.

Cole Swider was the saving grace in the loss, as the rookie from Syracuse scored 21 points on 6-of-10 from the field, 5-of-8 from three, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, to go along with four rebounds.

Max Christie and Scotty Pippen Jr. each added 10 points and third-year veteran Mason Jones contributed 13 points, three assists, and two each of rebounds and steals.

The team had started 0-2 in Sin City, but the tide would turn in good fortunes the rest of the tournament as the Lakers would finish off the Summer League a perfect 3-0.

An 83-72 victory over the LA Clippers was thanks in large to a double-double performance by Mason Jones who finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Equally as helpful was Javante McCoy, who finished 70.0 percent from the field and added 14 points to the mix.

On the second to last night of the summer tournament, the Lakers played spoiler to a Pelicans team that was looking to pick up a victory and place themselves into the tournament championship.

L.A. made the night anything but easy for their opponent, picked up a 102-94 win and dashed any hope New Orleans had of playing for a Summer League ring.

Six different Lakers finished with double-digit points but Swider was the major contributor on this night. He scored 21 points on 8-of-15 from the field (5-of-11 from three), tallied six rebounds, and recorded a steal in a team-high 23 minutes.

Max Christie scored his Summer League high 12 points on 50.0 percent from the field and Pippen Jr. added 11 points, seven assists, three rebounds, three steals, and a block.

On the final night of play, the Lakers utilized a strong, full team effort to grab a 95-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Each Laker to step on the floor in this game registered at least one-made FG and one rebound. Swider again led the scoring with 16 points on 6-of-9 from the floor, Pippen Jr. tallied stats in every major category with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block, and Jay Huff (13 points) and Javante McCoy (12 points) capped off the quartet with double-digit points.

The book was closed on this Summer League as Lakers finished with an overall record of 5-3. The young and raw talent was put on full display throughout the eight games as these players prepare for the next steps of their NBA journey.

NBA 2K23 Summer League Scoring Leaders (min 5 games played/AVG):