Sunday was a day of rest for some of the biggest names in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League tournament, with recent first round draft picks Marvin Bagley III and Grayson Allen of Duke and Raleigh native Jerome Robinson of Boston College all sitting out their team’s games.
That left the spotlight available for a pair of second-year players looking to make the jump from the G-League to a full-time spot on an NBA roster.
North Carolina’s Tony Bradley and Duke’s Amile Jefferson both made positive statements while leading their teams to victory.
Bradley, a 2017 first round pick who played only nine games for the Jazz as a rookie, scored 16 points in just 17 minutes of action in Utah’s 90-85 win against the New York Knicks. The 6-foot-10 center went 7 of 8 from the floor and made both of his free throw attempts and is averaging 17 points in two summer league games in Vegas.
Jefferson, meanwhile, posted 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 103-92 win against Toronto, The former Blue Devil, an undrafted free agent who was a G-League All-Star for the Timberwolves affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, made 6 of his 11 field goal attempts and was 3 of 4 from the line in his productive 31-minute effort.
Both players are averaging double figure scoring for their first two games in Vegas.
Another former ACC star looking to take the indirect route to the NBA, Codi Miller-McIntyre, also played well in the game. The former Wake Forest point guard, who played professionally in Russia last year, finished with 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting (2 of 2 on 3-pointers), with four assists and two steals for the Raptors.
Other top performances of note among players with North Carolina ties on Sunday included a 28-point outburst by former ACC Player of the Year and current Sacramento King Justin Jackson of UNC. Emerging NBA stars John Collins and Dennis Smith Jr. also played well, with Wake Forest’s Collins posting 17 points and nine rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks in a loss to Portland and NC State’s Smith going for 10 points, seven assists and four steals in the Dallas Mavericks’ win against Milwaukee.
Among drafted rookies from Duke, Wendell Carter Jr. had the best game with nine points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots for the Chicago Bulls in a loss to the Lakers, Harry Giles had eight points and five rebounds in Sacramento’s loss to the Clippers and Gary Trent Jr. had eight points and four rebounds for the Trailblazers in their win against Atlanta.
Undrafted Trevon Duval struggled, however, missing all eight of his field goal attempts while finishing with just a single point for the Houston Rockets in an 87-81 win against UNC’s J.P. Tokoto (eight points, three steals) and the Golden State Warriors.
Raleigh native Devonte Graham (Kansas) had 12 points and seven assists for the Charlotte Hornets in a win against Miami.
Play continues today with games throughout the day, all of which will be televised on either an ESPN network or NBATV.
Here are the stats for all state players participating in the Vegas Summer League tourney, which runs through July 17:
John Collins, Wake Forest (Hawks): 2 games, 24.0 ppg, 20-42 FG, 5-10 3PT, 3-9 FT, 8.5 rpg
Justin Jackson, UNC (Kings): 2 G, 18.0 ppg, 13-30 FG, 4-12 3PT, 6-6 FT, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 spg
Tony Bradley, UNC (Jazz): 2 G, 16.0 ppg, 13-15 FG, 6-6 FT, 3.5 rpg
Grayson Allen, Duke (Jazz): 1 G, 16.0 ppg, 6-17 FG, 2-9 3PT, 2-2 FT, 6.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 spg
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Kings): 1 G, 15.0 ppg, 5-13 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Amile Jefferson, Duke (T-wolves): 2 G, 13.5 ppg, 12-21 FG, 3-8 FT, 13.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Frank Jackson, Duke (Pelicans): 1 G, 13.0 ppg, 4-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-5 FT, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Theo Pinson, UNC (Nets) 2 G, 12.5 ppg, 7-17 FG, 4-11 3PT, 7-7 FT, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke (Bulls): 2 G, 12.5 ppg, 8-17 FG, 2-5 3PT, 7-10 FT, 8.0 rpg, 4.5 bpg
Harry Giles, Duke (Kings): 2 G, 12.5 ppg, 12-25 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 3PT, 5.5 rpg, 2.5 spg
Dennis Smith Jr., NC State (Mavs): 2 G, 12.0 ppg, 9-24 FG, 2-13 3PT, 4-4, 2.0 rpg, 6.0 apg
Jerome Robinson, Raleigh/BC (Clippers): 1 G, 12.0 ppg, 5-10 FG, 2-7 3PT, 1.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Devonte Graham, Raleigh/Kansas (Hornets): 2 G, 11.0 ppg, 7-20 FG, 0-7 3PT, 8-8 FT, 3.0 rpg, 6.0 apg
Trevon Duval, Duke (Rockets): 2 G, 10.5 ppg, 7-18 FG, 2-5 3PT, 5-10 FT, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wake (Raptors): 2 G, 9.5 ppg, 8-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-2 FT, 2.5 rpg, 4.5 apg
J.P. Tokoto, UNC (Warriors): 2 G, 7.0 ppg, 5-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, 1.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
Kennedy Meeks, UNC (Nuggets): 2 G, 4.5 ppg, 4-13 FG, 1.1 FT, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Eric Griffin, Campbell (Pistons): 2 G, 2.5 ppg, 1-2 FG, 3.0 rpg
Doral Moore, Wake (Wizards): 2 G, 2.0 ppg, 2-2 FG, 1.5 rpg
Bryant Crawford, Wake (Nets): 2 G, 1.5 ppg, 1-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Rodney Purvis, Raleigh/UConn (Magic): 2 G, 0.0 ppg, 0-10 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2.5 rpg
