2016: Jaylen Brown’s star is born
Before Jaylen Brown was tearing apart NBA playoff games, he was a Summer League rookie — and a very good one at that.
Brown was superb across his six appearances, averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 steals a game. The negative was the not-so-pretty shooting numbers, as he languished at 30 percent from the field and 27 percent from beyond the arc.
A physical presence straight out of college, Brown was able to assert his physicality on opposing defenses, finding himself averaging 10.2 free throws per game. Brown’s debut efforts were enough to earn him Summer League Second Team honors for the tournament.
Jaylen Brown named to the All-Vegas Summer League second team. #Celtics
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) July 18, 2016
Rozier returned, and suitably dominated Summer League play in averaging 21 points per contest to lead the Celtics. He also hit this HUGE shot against the San Antonio Spurs with time winding down.
We witnessed Rozier’s penchant for knocking down huge shots in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, but this was his first big moment as a Celtic and boy did he enjoy it. It was the second impressive display for Rozier as he continued to bide his time in the big leagues, waiting for his opportunity, which, as we now know, came two years later.
Guerschon Yabusele came into his first Summer League a raw prospect, and his performances at times showed it. He was able to use his big frame to grab 5.4 rebounds per game, but it was clear to all that the Frenchman was going to need some grooming.
Early summer-league overreaction: Ben Bentil is more ready for the NBA than Guerschon Yabusele.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 4, 2016
R.J Hunter’s slide down the pecking order was evident in his second appearance in Summer League play. His scoring average dropped from 15.6 to 8.5 points per game, as he was already slipping down in the Celtics’ rotation.
Ante Zizic didn’t take part in Summer League action.