There's a pretty easy argument to be made that the MVP of the Summer League was former Duke superstar Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 overall pick. He did what he always does and had a major impact on winning right away for the Memphis Grizzlies, leading the team all the way to the Summer League championship game, where they came up just short against the Golden State Warriors.
He put up Boozer-like averages of 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists per game in six contests in Vegas.
ESPN's Ben Golliver made that argument on Monday, handing the Summer League MVP honors to Boozer in his superlatives column from the LSVL.
When asked after Sunday night's loss to the Warriors if he felt he deserved to be Summer League MVP, Boozer didn't mince his words. His answer was exactly what Duke fans would expect:
"We lost," Boozer said. "You can't win MVP unless you win."
Grizzlies fans get their first look at Cameron Boozer's championship mentality
Duke fans are well aware of what individual accolades mean to Boozer in the aftermath of a frustrating defeat. He had to endure the Wooden Award ceremony following Duke's Elite Eight loss to UConn in the NCAA Tournament, and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world than at the podium in that moment.
That's just how he's wired.
Individual awards are meaningful, but they pale in comparison to the team success that Boozer craves.
Even in what was ultimately a meaningless competition in Las Vegas that nobody will remember the result of a few years from now, Boozer wanted to win. He's the ultimate competitor, and he wants to win every single competition that he takes part in.
He just wins. That's his best attribute, the one that allows him to stand apart from his peers.
It was not surprising at all that Boozer led the Grizzlies to the Summer League Championship Game in his first - and almost certainly only - time playing at the Las Vegas event. The only surprise was that Memphis didn't get the job done against Golden State, blowing a double-digit lead and falling agonizingly short.
But it's just a taste of what Grizzlies fans can expect moving forward. Memphis isn't going to push for the NBA title in year one with Boozer, but they're going to be a lot further along than most experts believe.
And eventually, they're going to hang banners.
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