These NBA Summer League games get a lot of attention.
They must mean a lot.
OK, sure, we’ll never reminisce about games played in Las Vegas over the past few weeks.
In reality, the games matter mainly for rookies and fringe players looking for an invite to training camp.
You see, you can’t make an NBA roster if you’re not even going to training camp.
If these games truly matter, then forward Isaac Jones just earned a spot in the Sacramento Kings’ rotation this season.
Jones was an undrafted free agent last season who played in 40 games for Sacramento. He averaged 3.4 points and 7.6 minutes per game, scoring 12 points on three occasions.
But the Kings (5–0) will face the Charlotte Hornets (5–0) in Sunday night’s championship game of the Vegas Summer League due to a supreme effort from Jones.
Jones, 25, scored 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting in Saturday’s 98–88 semifinal victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The 6-foot-9 Jones was a man among boys against Toronto’s Summer League roster. Reminder: that’s vastly different than facing Raptors stalwarts like Jakob Poeltl or Scottie Barnes.
Then again, Jones has seen longer roads toward the NBA — and he’s knocked down each barrier.
He appeared to be done with basketball after high school and began working a loading dock gig in Washington state.
Then, like magic, he grew five more inches.
He enrolled at Wenatchee Valley College and played three seasons at the Washington junior college. He was Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year in his third season, averaging 25.3 points and 13.2 rebounds.
Jones transferred to Idaho and won Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors, averaging 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
He then took a step up in competition by transferring eight miles west to Washington State. He averaged 15.3 points and 7.6 rebounds and earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors for a Cougars team that won an NCAA Tournament game.
And while last season’s numbers with the Kings don’t suggest future stardom, the franchise did convert his two-way deal into a standard contract late last season.
So the Kings certainly like what they see — and they’re the ones watching behind the scenes, in the film room and at practice.
This tells me Jones will definitely make Sacramento’s opening-night roster, barring injury.
Of course, games like Saturday’s surely help the cause.
“Unbelievable,” Kings Summer League coach Dipesh Mistry said of Jones in his postgame media availability. “We know he has that kind of potential and he was all over the floor when he was at the 4 and at the 5. Just attacking the rim and making the right play.”
Jones talked about how hard the team has worked and how badly they wanted to reach the championship game.
As for his own skills, nobody needs to tell him what to work on.
“Staying aggressive, that’s the biggest part of my game,” Jones said postgame. “I’m going to continue to work on my 3-point shot, and eventually it will come.”
Ah, the 3-point shot. Jones was 6 of 19 from behind the arc at Idaho and 1 of 14 at Washington State.
During 12 G League games last season, Jones shot 26.3 percent (10 for 38) from 3-point range.
He was 3-for-8 with the Kings last season, and limiting those attempts helped him shoot 65.1 percent overall.
Among Jones’ teammates with the Kings are first-round forward Nique Clifford and second-round big man Maxime Raynaud.
The Charlotte roster includes first-round wing Kon Knueppel, second-round guard Sion James and second-round big man Ryan Kalkbrenner.
One of these teams will win a Summer League title on Sunday night. Some of these players get a final chance to make an impression.
And Isaac Jones makes another run at becoming a full-time member of the Sacramento rotation — not part of the G League shuttle.
