They’re the Kings of the summer league
There are no diamond-encrusted rings. There’s no six-figure bonus money. You don’t even get to cut down the nets — hey, it’s the NBA, not the NCAA. They don’t cut down nets in the pros.
But there is a trophy and the distinction of being a champion. The victory parade is optional.
The NBA Summer League title is the domain of the Sacramento Kings after the Kings defeated the Houston Rockets, 77-68, Monday in front of 7,603 at the Thomas &Mack Center as the 11-day event wrapped up with record attendance numbers. Total attendance for this year was 71,922, well above last year’s record of 62,128.
This is the second year the summer league has had a playoff culminating with a champion. Golden State won last year’s inaugural tournament and thanks to the strong play down the stretch by second-year guard Ray McCallum, the Kings, who went 6-1 in Las Vegas, kept the trophy in Northern California.
“We just had to find a way to win,” said McCallum, who finished with 29 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter, and was selected as the title game’s Most Valuable Player. “It’s the championship game. Both teams wanted it. But we found a way.”
Monday was the Kings’ fourth game in five days while the Rockets were playing their sixth game in seven days and both teams had every right to be tired. But the Rockets started fast, jumping out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead before the Kings regrouped and caught and passed Houston early in the second quarter, 22-17 thanks to an extended 14-0 run.
Both teams were trying to summon enough energy to get to the finish line. And while neither shot particularly well, both teams were trying to defend and stay fundamentally sound. The Kings held a slim 36-34 lead at halftime as McCallum was leading the way with 10 of his 29 points.
The Rockets weren’t going down easily as rookie guard Nick Johnson was getting to the rim and finishing. Johnson, who played at Findlay Prep and the University of Arizona, led Houston with 17 points. But the Rockets appeared to wear down over the final five minutes while the Kings had a little more left in the tank.
“I think physically both teams were feeling the effects of the week,” said Rockets summer coach Chris Finch, whose team finished play in Las Vegas at 5-3. “I could tell we were losing our legs because we missed a lot of layups.”
Kings forward Quincy Acy came up with a big sequence to keep Sacramento in front with just over two minutes to play, scoring on a flying two-hand flush slam dunk, then hustling back on defense, stripping Donatas Motiejunas as Motiejunas appeared ready to throw down a slam himself, then drawing a foul as the Kings took possession.
“I tried to show some leadership,” said Acy, who joined the Kings last season as part of the Rudy Gay trade with Toronto. “This was important for us. We’re trying to learn how to win and compete and anytime I step on the floor, I’m trying to win.”
McCallum said winning in Las Vegas is a nice reward for him and his summer league teammates.
“It means a lot,” he said. “We’ve worked hard all summer and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about playing in the NBA, it’s that if you get an opportunity, you need to make the most of it. Hopefully this will give us some momentum heading into training camp this fall.”
There’s probably not going to be a parade down K Street in Sacramento, but Michael Malone, the Kings’ head coach, said winning the summer league championship does help in trying to change the team’s culture of losing that has been lurking for what seems like forever.
“We’re not going to overreact to winning the summer league, but it is big for our young guys,” Malone said. “We’re trying to set a tone for how we want to play and we were the best defensive team in the summer league and I believe that’s why we won. We want that same feeling of having success through our system to carry over to training camp to our veterans and into next season.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
