The NBA Summer League is officially underway and this Duke in the NBA rookie almost notched a triple-double in his debut.
Grayson Allen was the No. 21 overall draft pick in last months NBA Draft and he almost put up a triple-double the first time he stepped foot on the floor as a professional basketball player.
The Utah Jazz Summer League team took on the San Antonio Spurs Summer League team on Monday night in Utah and Allen scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out seven assists in the 92-76 victory for the Jazz.
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Allen had many open looks but only shot 4-16 from the floor and 2-6 from three-point range. Nerves played a role in Allen’s struggles from the floor and bad luck also played a factor as a majority of his shots would rim out.
There were points in the game where Allen played on and off the ball, but he started the game as the point guard for the Jazz.
Allen was playing under the watchful eye of his Jazz teammates and coaches with Jazz head coach Quin Snyder in attendance as well as star Donovan Mitchell and point guard Ricky Rubio.
The coaching staff for the Utah Jazz Summer League team said that they want to play Allen at all different positions as some games he will be the point guard, and others he will play as a shooting guard, and some games as a wing.
Allen was truly impressive in his passing abilities, something he didn’t showcase that much at Duke, averaging 3.0 assists over his four years in Durham, with his best numbers coming in his senior year with 4.6 assists per game.
Allen and the Jazz are back in action on Tuesday against star rookie and No. 4 overall pick Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Memphis Grizzlies Summer League team at 9:00 pm ET on NBATV.