NBA 2K25 Summer League provides opportunity, experience

The Charlotte Hornets sent Brandon Miller to the NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas even though the former Alabama All-American finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting for last season.

Fresh off working out against the U.S. men’s basketball team for the Paris Olympics, Miller scored 23 points, sank five 3-pointers and collected eight rebounds in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks in the Hornets’ summer-league opener on July 13.

Charlotte didn’t need to see any more from the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

But for almost all the other players at the NBA 2K25 Summer League, the short burst of basketball provided an opportunity to show why they might belong in the league or why they should play more if they’ve already reached the NBA.

Former Lee-Huntsville standout Kobe Brown joined the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. His rookie season included 44 games with NBA team and 22 with its NBA G League affiliate. In the Clippers’ first-round playoff loss in six games to the Dallas Mavericks, Brown played 10 minutes across three games.

Brown is working toward a bigger role in Los Angeles, who lost nine-time All-Star Paul George in free agency this offseason.

“Just sitting back and not having a part in what’s actually going on,” Brown said during an appearance on “Thru the Ringer.” “Obviously, you can cheer your teammates on, talk to guys, do what you can on the sideline, but at the end of the day, what’s on the floor’s what matters. That set a fire in me. …

“I’ve just been putting in the work all summer, and I’m just praying it pays off and I’m making a difference next year.”

Brown averaged 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists as the Clippers went 4-1 in NBA 2K25 Summer League play. Los Angeles’ only loss came by one point to the Memphis Grizzlies.

With former Hoover High School and UAB standout Trey Jemison at center, the Grizzlies reached the NBA 2K25 Summer League championship game on Monday night. In a matchup of the league’s only 5-0 teams, Memphis fell to the Miami Heat 120-118 in overtime.

After starting the 2023-24 season in the NBA G League, reaching the NBA on a 10-day contract and signing a deal with the Grizzlies as a rookie, Jemison averaged 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in six summer-league games. He played 170 minutes, the most among the players from Alabama high schools and colleges in the league.

Among the many players at the summer league hoping to get an NBA chance in the 2024-25 season, Alex Reese played for the Portland Trail Blazers after a season on their NBA G League affiliate. The former Pelham High School standout played four seasons at Alabama, then had a season off before averaging 23.7 points in the Luxembourg Basketball League in the 2022-23 campaign.

Reese scored 16 points in his first summer-league game and averaged 7.6 across five.

“Just the experience,” Reese said of his summer-league objective. “I’ve loved it out here. It’s my first one. I’m just having fun. I don’t really have any expectations – just playing the game, trying to get better, meeting some new people, being around some good guys.”

The players from Alabama high schools and colleges with their NBA 2K25 Summer League rosters stats include:

· Orlando Magic center Charles Bediako (Alabama) averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games.

· Los Angeles Clippers forward Kobe Brown (Lee-Huntsville) averaged 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in five games.

· Brooklyn Nets forward/center Noah Clowney (Alabama) averaged 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 assists in five games.

· Boston Celtics guard JD Davison (Calhoun, Alabama) averaged 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in three games.

· Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (Alabama) averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.0 steals.

· Detroit Pistons guard Aaron Estrada (Alabama) averaged 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in five games.

· Memphis Grizzlies center Trey Jemison (Hoover, UAB) averaged 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in six games.

· Sacramento Kings guard Colby Jones (Mountain Brook) averaged 10.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 steals in five games.

· Houston Rockets guard Kira Lewis Jr. (Hazel Green, Alabama) averaged 4.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in five games.

· Charlotte Hornets forward/guard Brandon Miller (Alabama) had 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists in one game.

· New Orleans Pelicans guard Trhae Mitchell (South Alabama) averaged 2.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in four games.

· Orlando Magic guard Xavier Moon (Central-Coosa) averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steals in five games.

· Portland Trail Blazers forward Alex Reese (Pelham, Alabama) averaged 7.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in five games.

· Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jaden Shackelford (Alabama) averaged 13.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in four games.

· Denver Nuggets guard Au’Diese Toney (Columbia) averaged 1.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in five games.

· Denver Nuggets forward Jaylin Williams (Auburn) averaged 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in three games.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at@AMarkG1.