Last summer, Kevin Pelton of ESPN analyzed summer league statistics and how they translated to the regular season. To do this, he looked at a player’s stats historically in the summer league to their first five games in the league, which is more-or-less the same sample size.
He found that the only stats that are truly consistent are defensive rebounding percentage and block percentage. A player’s shooting percentage in the summer league generally had no correlation to their regular season shooting efficiency, which is good news for fans of Tyler Ennis, who went 7-32 (21.9%) this summer.
Obviously, some players can put up incredible numbers during the summer league and not get a shot during the regular season because they’re on veteran playoff teams. For example, ex-Arizona star Nick Johnson had a very impressive outing this summer after being selected 42nd overall by the Houston Rockets. He was tied for second in total points and displayed his athleticism. However, he’ll be behind explosiveness to earn a contract with the Mavs. With Chandler Parsons on board, he won’t get a lot of playing time, but you have to appreciate an undrafted guy from a small school staying with it and making the most of his opportunities.
Walter Tavares is a 22-year-old prospect selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. He is listed at 7’3’’ and is still fairly new to playing basketball. He is definitely a project for some team, with the Hawks still having his rights at the moment. With his size, he has potential as a role-player with the ability to rebound and protect the rim, the latter increasing in importance in the modern NBA. In the summer league he blocked 7.11% of shots while on the floor, and could perhaps work out in the long run for the Hawks if they choose to give him a shot.
Andrew Wiggins blocked 4.08% of shots while on the floor, which is quite an impressive number for a guy playing the shooting guard spot. For reference, that mark in the NBA this year would’ve ranked 10th in the entire league, just in front of Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard. This is not to say Wiggins will be up on this list once the regular season rolls around, but it does show his immense defensive potential. The Miami Heat relied on LeBron and Dwyane Wade to protect the rim from the wing positions, and Wiggins might be one of those unique talents as well.