How'd The Summer League Get Hot?

The 2018 NBA Las Vegas Summer League finished recently, with the Portland Trailblazers beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the final game of the midsummer tournament.

I had the pleasure of attending a game in Vegas this summer, and the scene was lively. Fans packed the lower bowl of UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Arena. In the crowd you could easily spot prominent players, coaches, executives, and high profile media members. I bumped into Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charnia and saw fans crowd around to take pictures with veteran center, Kosta Koufos. Judging by the intrigue and ambiance in the building, you’d think we were all gathered to witness something special. That wasn’t the case.

I brought a friend with me and he was as blown away by the vibe as I was. Though, I had to explain that the on-court product wouldn’t match the surrounding energy. We caught Atlanta’s Trae Young (the #5 pick) take on the New York Knicks, and within about 3 minutes my friend understood my warning. These guys botched fast breaks, missed layups, and turned the ball over after forcing a turnover. The game was messy. I wasn’t surprised. The rosters are comprised of rookies (both drafted and undrafted), unproven veterans, international prospects, and just about any other guy with legitimate NBA aspirations. They typically struggle to run the team’s offense and foul their way through on defense. Ballhandlers run the show. Big men are next to irrelevant. Legitimate stars have struggled in their summer stints, and players that dominate here have struggled to stay in the league at all. There is absolutely nothing to take from these games. So why is everyone suddenly so enamored with NBA Summer League?

2018 #5 pick, Trae Young, struggled in his Summer League debut with the Atlanta Hawks

guess you’d have to credit the NBA’s dominant presence in the national sports conscience. People are hungry for anything with NBA in the title. In the summer, that could mean a fringe free agent signing, the release of 2K player ratings, workout videos, and now the Summer League.

Since the games were brought to ESPN in 2017 to showcase Lonzo Ball, the exhibition has become something of a spectacle. Despite the lack of fluidity between the lines, people are watching and attending, sometimes in greater numbers than real regular season MLB games . These games used to be played in small gyms in Boston and Orlando while tape-delayed and hidden on NBATV's  messy summer lineup. Now the event spans nearly 3 weeks on the west coast going to Sacramento, Utah, and finishing in Las Vegas. The length of time spent in the Vegas leg of the tour (12 days) feels like an audition for the city’s eventual bid to have a team of their own, but you didn’t hear that from me.

The growth of the league both culturally and internationally has made these unsightly games a thing and given young players a stage that feels meaningful. Even if the results are meaningless, it’s just one more thing for basketball junkies to tune into during the dog days of summer. What else are we going to do? Watch baseball?