The NBA Summer League has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t been as organized, coordinated and structured (nor popular) as it’s been in the last decade. That has a lot to do with the fact that the Summer League has grown in popularity where fans can come watch some of NBA’s future stars.
The NBA Summer League held the first Las Vegas Summer League in 2004. That Summer League program has grown to be the largest of all the disparate leagues with 32 teams participating in the most recent league in 2019. Here are players that have been named the Summer League’s MVP over the last dozen years or so
| Year | MVP | Pos. | Summer League Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Randy Foye | SG | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2007 | Nate Robinson | PG | New York Knicks |
| 2008 | Jerryd Bayless | PG | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2009 | Blake Griffin | PF | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2010 | John Wall | PG | Washington Wizards |
| 2011 | N/A | N/A | NBA Lockout* |
| 2012 | Damian Lillard (co-MVPs) | PG | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Josh Selby (co-MVPs) | PG | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| 2013 | Jonas Valančiūnas | C | Toronto Raptors |
| 2014 | Glen Rice Jr. | SG | Washington Wizards |
| 2015 | Kyle Anderson | SF | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2016 | Tyus Jones | PG | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2017 | Lonzo Ball | PG | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2018 | Josh Hart | SG | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2019 | Brandon Clarke | PF | Memphis Grizzlies |
* Due to the 161-day NBA Lockout before the 2011-12 season that started on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011, there was no NBA Summer League.
Looking at the list above, you can see that winning the MVP during the NBA Summer League usually means good things for you. Of the 14 or so players that have been presented the MVP trophy, all but Glen Rice Jr. and Josh Selby have went to be a productive role player like Randy Foye, Jonas Valančiūnas, Jerryd Bayless, and Kyle Anderson or become NBA All-Stars like Damian Lillard, Blake Griffin and John Wall.
Summer League Championship MVPs by Year
So there’s the overall Summer League MVP and there’s also the players that win the MVP of the championship game. Those player’s team make the championship game and have the best performance in that game — like the NBA Finals MVP, but not.
| Year | Summer League | Champion Team | Championship Game MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Las Vegas | Golden State Warriors | Ian Clark |
| 2014 | Las Vegas | Sacramento Kings | Ray McCallum |
| 2015 | Las Vegas | San Antonio Spurs | Jonathon Simmons |
| 2016 | Las Vegas | Chicago Bulls | Jerian Grant |
| 2017 | Las Vegas | Los Angeles Lakers | Kyle Kuzma |
| 2018 | Las Vegas | Portland Trail Blazers | K.J. McDaniels |
| 2019 | Las Vegas | Memphis Grizzlies | Brandon Clarke |
The Summer Leagues are full of recently drafted players, players that weren’t drafted, players from previous drafts and former NBA players looking to catch on with a team. Often, NBA players that are regular rotation players participate so they can play against better competition, stay in shape, and improve their game. Those that are unsigned free agents and perform well often are signed to a contract for the regular season. Even though players play on a specific NBA summer league team can actually been signed by any team once that league has completed, not just the team they played for in summer league.
The post Here are the 14 NBA Summer League MVPs by year (Las Vegas) appeared first on Interbasket.