3 Risers, 1 faller from exciting Grizzlies Summer League

Riser: Scotty Pippen Jr.

Though he may not have won MVP of the tournament, there's a strong argument to be made that Scotty Pippen Jr. was the best player in all of Summer League this year.

The third-year pro has only proven capable of excelling when serving as a pure point guard and floor general, and that' exactly what he did when playing the role during the Las Vegas tournament.

From his defensive excellence to his distribution skills, Pippen was making his presence felt all over the place when on the floor, and his stellar averages of 21.5 points, 8.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals on 46.1 percent shooting only help strengthen such a notion.

An incredibly underrated producer during his debut campaign with the Grizzlies in 2023-24, the 23-year-old showed true flashes of brilliance and overall potential of being a full-time contributor on the varsisty team moving forward rather than as a two-way frequenter.

His play was so impressive, that many are now arguing that Pippen should be promoted to being Ja Morant's primary backup point guard, a role previously held by the similarly skilled Tyus Jones.

When combining his contributions from both last season (12.9 points, 4.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals on 49.3 percent shooting and 41.7 percent shooting from deep) with this year's Summer League, it seems only right that Zach Kleiman and company reward him for his top-notch efforts.