The NBA‘s Summer League gives top-notch prospects the ultimate opportunity to showcase their skills.
They get to shake off the nerves and anxiety of making their NBA debut, and while it doesn’t actually count, it helps some of them smooth things out before things get real.
Needless to say, that often leads to major overreactions — both good and bad –, and Brandon Miller’s Summer League debut wasn’t the exception to that rule, with fans sharing some mixed reactions to it.
Thank goodness the 3rd string scrubs were in so he could get off those shots.
— KingRomeo (@RomeosWisdom) July 4, 2023
Turns into Michael Jordan when they're down by 20 with 24 seconds left in the game
— ㅤ (@subZZro) July 4, 2023
let the praise be as loud as the disrespect
— Carson Knudson (@akaCK_) July 4, 2023
post generational fouls and turnovers
— smoovay (@Slime5ea5on) July 4, 2023
Also 6 turnovers and 7 fouls. You left that part out
— Grady226 (@5jorube3) July 4, 2023
The Charlotte Hornets’ prized rookie was quite erratic in the first half, even committing six fouls.
Fortunately for him, Summer League allows players to commit as many as ten fouls before fouling out, so he had a chance to bounce back and showcase his shot-making ability in the second half.
Miller made some tough buckets and flashed his defensive upside once he got his legs under him.
There’s no denying that there will be some rough nights for the Alabama product, but that’s just the way things go for rookies.
There’s always a learning curve and some growing pains for first-year players, especially those who might need to bulk up or get used to the speed of the game once they make the transition to the pros.
But in reality, no player is as good or as bad as they look in Summer League, and while there could be plenty of excitement — or concerns — after a couple of performances, we won’t get to see them for real until it actually counts.
This is the time to make mistakes.
NEXT: Summer League Coach Reveals His First Impressions Of Brandon Miller
