Marvin Bagley III was dominant in his NBA Summer League debut Monday.
The second overall pick in last month’s draft had 18 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots while going 6 of 11 from the floor in 25 minutes for the Sacramento Kings in a 98-93 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.
As impressive as Bagley’s effort was, punctuated by a poster-quality dunk over Lakers’ rookie Moritz Wagner, it wasn’t the most promising performance by a one-and-done Duke big man during the opening day of the four-team California Classic tournament.
That distinction belonged to Bagley’s Sacramento teammate Harry Giles.
Playing in his first game in over a year after sitting out the entire 2017-18 season with strengthening his surgically repaired knee, Giles contributed 13 points, three rebounds and a steal while going 6 of 10 from the floor in the Kings’ victory.
He also played 25 minutes and from the sound of things, enjoyed every second of it.
“I can’t put it into words. I had a great time out there,” Giles told Kings.com. “ I played hard and went through the battle. I got a cut lip, but that’s what I wanted to put myself back in the mix and feel like I’m part of the game again.”
A third first-round Kings draft pick from a state school, North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, also played for Sacramento, finishing with five points, a rebound and an assist in 32 minutes.
Undrafted free agent Allerik Freeman of NC State did not see action in the game. Neither did UNC’s Joel Berry, who is attempting to make the Lakers’ roster as an undrafted free agent.
The Golden State Warriors beat the Miami Heat 79-68 in the other game on the opening day of the Sacramento summer league.
Play also began in Salt Lake City at the Utah Jazz Summer League, with Duke’s Grayson Allen making his professional debut against the San Antonio Spurs.
The former Blue Devil didn’t shoot well, going 4 of 16 from the floor and 2 of 6 from 3-point range. But he still nearly produced a triple double with 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 22 minutes.
UNC’s Tony Bradley finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Jazz in a 92-76 victory. NC State’s Maverick Rowan made a cameo appearance in the game, playing only one minute and missing his only shot for the Jazz.
In the other Salt Lake City game, former Wake Forest star John Collins had nine points and six rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks in a 103-88 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Play in both summer leagues continues on Tuesday and continues through Thursday. They are both preliminaries to the more prestigious Vegas Summer League, in which all 30 teams are participating, runs from July 6-17. Games in all three leagues will be televised by NBA TV and ESPN.
Here are the cumulative stats for all state players participating in Sacramento and Salt Lake City:
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Kings): 1 game, 18.0 ppg, 6-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 5-6 FT, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg
Harry Giles, Duke (Kings): 1 G, 13.0 ppg, 6-10 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 spg
Grayson Allen, Duke (Jazz): 1 G, 11.0 ppg, 4-16 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-2 FT, 8.0 rpg, 7.0 apg
Tony Bradley, UNC (Jazz): 1 G, 11.0 ppg, 4-11 FG, 3-5 FT, 11.0 rpg, 4.0 bpg
John Collins, Wake Forest (Hawks): 1 G, 9.0 ppg, 4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Justin Jackson, UNC (Kings): 1 G, 5.0 ppg, 2-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Maverick Rowan, NC State (Jazz): 1 G, 0.0 ppg, 0-1 FG
Joel Berry, UNC (Lakers): DNP
J.P. Tokoto, UNC (Warriors): DNP
Allerik Freeman, NC State (Kings): DNP
