Deandre Ayton’s Las Vegas Summer League debut didn’t end up being a must-see event, but the Phoenix Suns centre still managed to flash his skills in his first outing as a pro.
Last month’s first overall pick in the NBA draft finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, one block, three turnovers, 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from the free throw line in the 92-85 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Though it wasn’t a loud performance, Ayton got a taste of NBA competition, which included seeing double teams early on whenever he got the ball on post-ups.
With the defence focused on limiting him, Ayton’s first points didn’t come until midway through the first quarter on an alley-oop in transition.
“I told coach, ‘Yo, they double team in the league?” Ayton said. “Everybody started laughing. They said, ‘That’s just respect. They’re showing you respect.’”
Ayton sprinkled in his jumper with three shots outside the paint, with two of them coming up short. The other one was an impressive turnaround mid-range shot after making the catch in the post.
Defensively, the big man unsurprisingly looked uneven. At times he was out of position, but also did well to hold his own on switches and swatted a shot by standing tall at the rim.
Ayton should have more opportunities to show what he can do as the Summer League goes on.
