Though Summer League is generally not a real attention grabber for fans, after baring witness to a tumultuous 2023-24 regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies faithful seemed more excited than ever to watch their offseason squad take to the hardwood in what ultimately turned into a rather successful run.
From standout showings that saw two players in GG Jackson and Scotty Pippen Jr. earn NBA 2k Summer League First Team honors to stellar overall team efforts that witnessed coach Jason March guide the club to a 5-1 record, this Las Vegas tournament was certainly a welcomed sight to see for the Grind City community.
Of course, despite these accomplishments, not all franchise loyalists are satisfied with how things panned out, especially not Locked on Grizzlies host Joe Mullinax who, on a recent episode of the podcast, completely slammed the league as a whole following the official outcome of the awards race.
Grizzlies analyst slams NBA for Summer League awards race outcome
When going over his choices for the winners and losers of Summer League play following Monday's championship round -- a contest that the Grizzlies fought valiantly in though, in the end, fell to the Miami Heat by a final score of 120-118 --, Mullinax took a deep dive into his disdain of who the league decided to crown as tournament MVP, in Jalen Wilson.
"Really, Scotty Pippen Jr. isn't the MVP? GG Jackson is not the MVP? The guy that you picked to be the MVP was Second Team All-NBA ... What kind of sense does that make?"
GG Jackson and Scotty Pippen Jr. absolutely DOMINATED today, with Jackson recording a 27-point, 13-rebound double-double and Pippen dropping 25 PTS and 9 AST in a @memgrizz victory! 💥 #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/TiBXrh4Mmp
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) July 18, 2024
In virtually every metric, both Jackson and Pippen were more productive on the hardwood and more valuable to their team's success rate than the Brooklyn Nets (3-2) forward proved to be.
The numbers only further strengthen such a sentiment:
- GG Jackson: 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 44.8 percent shooting from the floor and 37.5 percent shooting from deep
- Scotty Pippen Jr.: 21.5 points, 8.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 steals on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor
- Jalen Wilson: 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals on 43.6 percent shooting from the floor and 45.8 percent shooting from deep
"In what world does being a Second Team All-NBA Summer League player in Vegas make for that person to be the MVP? Tell me you don't care about your own darn Summer League without telling me you don't care about your own darn Summer League!"
From the on-paper metrics to the sheer eye test, it seemed quite apparent that at least Pippen, if not both him and Jackson were more in the discussion for the moniker of Summer League's top player compared to Wilson, and Mullinax seems justifiably furious about the missed opportunity by the league to reward the efforts of these individuals with the illustrious Most Valuable Player honor.
In the end, however, the impact these exhibitions have on a player's trajectory at the next level is rather nonexistent, meaning that, MVP or not, these Grizzlies studs would still be heading into 2024-25 with roles already carved out for them on the varsity team.
Nonetheless, at least from a fan's perspective, it's still disheartening to see such an outcome take place, and Mullinax has every right to voice his displeasures on the matter.