San Antonio Spurs: Bryn Forbes standing out in NBA Summer League

The San Antonio Spurs may have found another gem in Las Vegas Summer League.

The San Antonio Spurs had the 29th pick in the NBA Draft, taking point guard Derrick White out of the University of Colorado. However, White isn’t the one turning heads in NBA Summer League. Instead, Bryn Forbes is making waves on the Summer League circuit.

Forbes leads all scorers in Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 29.3 points per game. He is also averaging 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from three-point land.

Forbes, a 6’3″ shooting guard from the Michigan State Spartans, was a member of the Spurs roster last season after going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was used sparingly in 2016-17, averaging 2.6 points, 0.7 assists an 0.6 rebounds in just 7.9 minutes per game.

In Vegas, he’s elevated his play with more playing time (30.7 minutes per game). He’s set himself apart from the rest of the pack by leading the Spurs’ offensive attack.

Bryn Forbes opened Summer League play with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Miami Heat. The Spurs dropped that game, 75-74.

Since then, Forbes has had back-to-back games where he put up more than 30 points. In their second game in Vegas against the Philadelphia 76ers, he went perfect from the free throw line (17-for-17) while shooting 8-for-17 from the floor. The Spurs won that game 101-95.

In their final game before tournament play, Forbes scored 35 points yet again against the Portland Trail Blazers. He shot 11-of-26 from the field and went 6-of-11 from three-point range. He also had five rebounds and four assists. San Antonio also won the game 99-85.

Forbes also led all scorers in the Utah Summer League, averaging 21.3 points per game in three games.

Who is Bryn Forbes?

Bryn Forbes was four-year player with the Michigan State Spartans from 2014-16, but he began his career at Cleveland State (2012-14). He was known for his three-point shooting prowess, shooting 48.1 percent from three in his senior season.

Forbes averaged 11.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in two seasons with the Spartans while shooting 45.8 percent from three-point range. He led the Big Ten Conference three-point field goal percentage during the 2015-16 season.

Since graduating, he signed a multi-year deal with the Spurs after going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. Without a spot for him on the San Antonio roster, the team sent him down to the NBA D-League (now G-League) for 19 games.

In 19 games, Forbes averaged 23.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the three-point line and 50.2 percent from the floor. He’s developed quite nicely in just one season in the NBA and is beginning to show he belongs in the big leagues.

Forbes has added a nice floor game to his three-point shooting ability since the 2016-17 season ended and it’s showed in Summer League. The Spurs may have a hard time keeping Forbes off the floor next season despite not having much room in the rotation.

Forbes has begun to assert himself on the floor and do what he does well to help the team win. San Antonio is currently 2-1 going into bracket play in Vegas.

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Their next game is against the New Orleans Pelicans at 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.