Portland Trail Blazers: 5 takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League

For the second straight season, the Portland Trail Blazers made it to the NBA Summer League finals. This year they went undefeated and won the championship. Here are some main takeaways for Rip City in Las Vegas.

The Portland Trail Blazers went undefeated during three preliminary games and earned the second seed going into the 2018 NBA Summer League tournament. They knocked off the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies in the competition to play in the Summer League final.

Just like the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have met in the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers have met in the Summer League finals in back-to-back years. The Lakers won the first year, but the Blazers took it home this time by beating the Lakers, 91-73.

The Portland Summer League squad was an exciting group and gave their fans a lot to cheer for over the past two weeks. They were led by last year’s first round picks, Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. They also showcased both rookies they drafted this season, Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. This team also had former first round picks from other franchises on it, including Wade Baldwin IV, John Jenkins, Georgios Papagiannis and Archie Goodwin.

There was a lot to take away from this Blazers unit because of how much we got to see them play this July. It was a fun two weeks, and this team was outstanding. Even though the Blazers won the championship, it’s still just the Summer League. With that being said, here are some takeaways from the team’s championship run in the 2018 NBA Summer League.