On Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will put it all on the line during the NBA Summer League Championship Game against Cam Whitmore and the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Cavaliers have been arguably the best team in Las Vegas during the Summer League, with Emoni Bates and Sam Merrill shining the brightest on this talented young squad that has won all five games they’ve played leading up to this championship game of undefeated teams Monday.
Along with being named to the All-Summer League Second Team on Monday, Bates has had the opportunity to soak up the knowledge from quite a few NBA stars.
Bates told Swish Cultures that he has quite a few veteran mentors helping him along the way, with Ja Morant, Dejounte Murray, Miles Bridges, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell and even the recently retired Carmelo Anthony providing some guidance, via NBA Central.
Emoni Bates mentions Ja Morant, Miles Bridges, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell and Carmelo Anthony as vets taking him under their wing
(Via @swishcultures_ ) pic.twitter.com/IXZdYCMa2H
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 17, 2023
That’s an impressive list of mentors, and Bates can’t go wrong as he begins his NBA journey in Cleveland with so much experience and knowledge of the game to draw from.
The Cavaliers selected Bates with the No. 49 overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft out of Eastern Michigan.
The talented rookie may have shown enough during this Summer League event to merit some consideration to crack the rotation next season, but he’ll have to continue playing at a high level once training camp and the preseason gets underway in order to make an impression on the coaching staff in Cleveland.
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