The NBA summer league is made for the younger players to continue to develop their games. The second-year players will make the trip out to Las Vegas to continue to polish their games while the rookies make the trip in order to get some experience and begin to adjust before the NBA season begins.
For Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jaden Springer, it was definitely a learning experience for him. He was the No. 28 pick in the 2021 NBA draft and he then went out to Vegas to begin his journey in the league.
After some initial adjustments, he broke out in the finale on Tuesday. He scored 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting and he knocked down five free throws out of six attempts. He looked under control all game and it looked like he was taking a big step forward.
“The pace of the game,” Springer started. “I just slowed myself down and just let it speed me up. I felt like the coaches put me in a good position and good situation. Those two things really helped me out a lot.”
The summer league experience is about continuing to learn and develop each game. Springer was able to do that and make an impact in the finale in their win over the Utah Jazz in what has been a culmination of learning over their time out in Vegas.
“He’s just gotten better with every game and his ability to get downhill and get the paint and make strong two foot moves is impressive,” said summer league coach Brian Adams. “Defensively, he’s at a high NBA level already, so seeing that on the offensive and getting downhill, attacking in pick-and-roll, getting into the paint, making plays, it was awesome.”
Overall, Springer still has a lot to learn and a lot to develop, but this was an overall positive experience for him and now, he just needs to carry it over to training camp. He was able to get his first taste of NBA basketball and how the game is played as well as how fast the game is. All of that is very important for the 18-year old out of Tennessee to learn.
“For me, really, it was my first taste of NBA basketball so really adjusting to the speed of the game, just learning the pace, that’s the biggest thing for me,” Springer added. “Being able to play with a whole team of guys that can really hoop so that was my biggest takeaways.”
Now, Springer should try and decompress a bit and begin to mentally prepare for the grind of the NBA season getting set to begin on Sep. 28 with training camp.
“All these guys got to take a little time off to just kind of relax a little and get off their legs,” Adams added. “We’ve been out here 14 days and yesterday (Monday) was actually our first day we had a full complete off day. We’re really encouraging them to take a little time.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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