NBA Star Trey Murphy Gives Interesting Take on Summer League

Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III appeared on the recent episode of the " Young Man and the Three" podcast with Tommy Alter and Jabari Smith, giving his take on why the Summer League doesn't matter.

"My first Summer League, I played pretty well, I was First Team All-Summer League," Murphy started. "But obviously it didn't matter because I didn't have a good game until February of the next year... I played great Summer League and then didn't play good for another 50 games. It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean anything."

The Summer League is the first chance for people to see new players in an NBA setting, with more spacing and a faster tempo. Fans like to pull things away from what they see in Las Vegas, but Murphy urges caution on that.

"I feel like a lot of people try to jump to conclusions and make assessments on kids in Summer League and it's just too early," Murphy said.

Teams also get very little time to prepare for the Summer League. Rosters are thrown together, and they only get a few practices together before they go compete for 10 days. That's not always the best situation for every player.

Trey Murphy III's First Summer League Experience

Trey Murphy only played two games in the 2022 Summer League, but he was dominant on the floor, averaging 26.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.5 SPG while shooting 50% from the field. For being the 17th overall pick in his draft, it was a shocking display, but it left Pelicans fans feeling like they got a steal in Murphy.

Murphy also isn't wrong that the experience did not translate into the regular season. He didn't score double digits in a game until his 37th game of his rookie season and the team's 51st. Even then, it was a 12-point outing with six points coming from the free-throw line. His first breakout game came in his 47th game of his rookie season, when he scored 32 points against the Charlotte Hornets.

He has turned into a great NBA player, averaging 21.2 PPG last season before getting hurt, and Murphy was rewarded with a four-year, $112 million contract that kicks in this season because of it.