NBA Summer League recap: Undrafted guard stars for Trail Blazers
Sunday’s scores
Portland Trail Blazers 85, New York Knicks 77 (championship game)
Toronto Raptors 80, Milwaukee Bucks 69
Phoenix Suns 84, Indiana Pacers 69
New Orleans 107, Oklahoma City Thunder 71
Washington Wizards 87, Golden State Warriors 77
Utah Jazz 82, Denver Nuggets 72
Stars of the day
Brandon Williams, Trail Blazers guard
The undrafted guard from Arizona helped power Portland toward its championship, scoring a team-high 22 points on 5-of-9 shooting while making all 10 of his free-throw attempts. Williams added five assists as he pushes for additional playing time in 2022-23. He played 24 games last season as a rookie, though an improved roster could leave him on the periphery.
John Butler Jr., Pelicans forward
The undrafted forward from Florida State finished summer league with a perfect performance. Butler made all nine of his field-goal attempts en route to 25 points and seven rebounds while posting a team-best plus/minus of plus-34.
Abu Kigab, Raptors forward
Formerly of Boise State, Kigab helped key the Raptors to victory in their finale, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7 of 14 in 25 minutes. Kigab began his college career at Oregon but left after the 2018-19 season for Boise, where he became one of the Mountain West’s best players, averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 2021-22 as a fifth-year senior.
Faces in the crowd
Another sparse but enthusiastic crowd that watched the Blazers beat the Knicks included New York coach Tom Thibodeau and former Knicks point guard turned ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson. Former UNLV women’s players Dylan and Dakota Gonzalez sat courtside after singing the national anthem and added a rendition of “We Are the World” at halftime.
Hip-hop legend and longtime Las Vegas resident Flavor Flav watched the Raptors-Bucks game at Cox Pavilion. He joined ESPN’s broadcast, touting Bucks rookie forward MarJon Beauchamp’s lyricism.
“He spits. He’s got music,” he said. “MarJon Beauchamp’s got bars.”
Sam Gordon Las Vegas Review-Journal
