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After each NBA Draft, most people around the league turn their attention toward the best Summer League performances.
Of course, some of the guys who’ve had the greatest Summer League performances haven’t exactly turned out to be stars, and having the best Summer League stats is pretty much meaningless if you don’t back it up when it actually counts.
Best Summer League performances ever
Even so, those who dominated at this point in the offseason still stole the headlines, and some of them even fooled us. That’s why today, we’ll honor them by letting you know everything there is about the top five best Summer League performances of all time.
5. Josh Hart – Lakers vs Cavaliers, 2018
Josh Hart has had a pretty decent career in the league, especially for a guy who was taken with the 30th pick. However, he looked like a superstar in the making when his Lakers squared off against the Cavaliers, dominating for 37 points and nine boards while carrying the load in a double-overtime win.
Hart was named 2018 Summer League MVP after averaging 24.2 points, 5.2 boards, and 1.5 steals per game. He broke out as a serviceable role player after being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, also playing for the Portland Trail Blazers before eventually landing with the New York Knicks.
4. Donovan Mitchell – Jazz vs Grizzlies, 2017
It didn’t take long before Donovan Mitchell proved that he was one of the biggest NBA Draft steals of the past ten years or so. It was crazy to think that so many teams have passed on him despite his evident and impressive shot-making skills, and he just looked like a grown man among kids.
That was more evident when he torched the Memphis Grizzlies for 37 points and eight steals — both tournament highs. No other player has recorded more steals in NBA Summer League history, and even though his team lost, he still made the record books. Now, he’s playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
3. Kyle Kuzma – Lakers vs Blazers, 2017
While everybody was talking about Lonzo Ball, it was Kyle Kuzma who was the one who stole all the headlines for the purple and gold. He had one of the most memorable tournament runs in 2017, and he took it upon himself to lead his team to the Summer League title vs the Blazers.
Kuzma torched the Blazers for 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six three-pointers, going 11/16 from the field and 6/10 from beyond the three-point line. He established himself as a steady member of the Lakers and even helped them win a championship in 2020 before being traded to the Washington Wizards.
2. Von Wafer – Nuggets vs Knicks, 2007
It’s safe to say Von Wafer isn’t exactly one of the most successful second-round picks, but he still had his five minutes of fame during the 2007 NBA Summer League. Then playing for the Denver Nuggets, he set a Summer League record by exploding for 42 points.
Perhaps the most impressive part about this scoring outburst is the fact that he came off the bench and only had six points after one quarter, dropping 19 points in the final quarter alone. The guard/forward bounced around the league for years and also played overseas.
1. Anthony Morrow – Warriors vs Hornets, 2009
Anthony Morrow looked like the next big thing in the 2009 NBA Summer League. He was so impressive that his 47-point explosion vs the New Orleans (now Charlotte) Hornets is still the highest-scoring game in Summer League history to this day, breaking Von Wafer and Marcus Banks‘ records.
Morrow made it to the league for his elite three-point shooting skills, and while he was never a star, he still managed to play in the league for a decade, which is a lot to say for an undrafted player. He shot 46.7% from three in his rookie season and 41.7% in his career, which is the 17th-highest percentage in NBA history.
