Kings' Davion Mitchell, Nets' Cameron Thomas Named Co-MVPs of 2021 NBA Summer League
Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell and Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas were named co-MVPs of the 2021 NBA Las Vegas Summer League.
The rookie guards were selected by a panel of media and also made the All-Summer League First Team.
Mitchell had nine points and seven assists to help lead the Kings to a 100-67 blowout win over the Boston Celtics to take the Summer League championship. The Baylor product averaged 10.8 points and 5.8 assists overall while playing lockdown defense on the perimeter.
Thomas was the best individual scorer in Las Vegas, pouring in an average of 27.0 points per game. He was able to relentlessly attack the basket to draw contact at the rim and hit a solid 36.0 percent of his threes.
While it would be easy to see summer league as a generally meaningless endeavor, it's not completely fruitless, as Summer League MVPs generally become viable NBA players. Of the previous 10 Summer League MVPs, only two (Josh Selby and Glen Rice Jr.) did not become NBA rotation players or better.
That's particularly promising for the Nets, who may have landed a steal with Thomas at No. 27 overall. The Kings have higher expectations than role player for Mitchell, who was selected with the ninth pick.
As it stands, both teams should be happy with their picks and Thomas might have established himself as an early leader for steal of the draft..
