Former Austin Spurs forward Kyle Anderson has been named Most Valuable Player of the Samsung NBA Summer League 2015.
From the press release,
Anderson has played in six games in Las Vegas, helping the Spurs advance to the Samsung NBA Summer League’s Championship game with a 5-1 record at the event. To date, he has averaged 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals, recording his best game in the desert with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks against the Brooklyn Nets on July 16.
Joining Anderson on the Samsung All-NBA Summer League 2015 Summer League First Team are Seth Curry (New Orleans), Doug McDermott (Chicago), Norman Powell (Toronto), and T.J. Warren (Phoenix).
Larry Drew II (New Orleans), Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver), Dwight Powell (Dallas), Noah Vonleh (Portland) and Alan Williams (Houston) make up the Samsung All-NBA Summer League 2015 Second Team.
In 26 games with Austin, Anderson averaged 21.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and two steals in just over 40 minutes per game. Anderson is the fifth ever Summer League MVP, joining Damian Lillard, Josh Selby, Jonas Valanciunas, and most recently, Glen Rice Jr. as the only players to have ever been bestowed the honor.
The 21-year-old Anderson continues to showcase his continuously improving game in hopes of carving out an established role with San Antonio next season, after being shuttled back in forth between the NBA and the D-League last year. Though his three-point shooting hasn’t improved as much as hoped (23%), and his limited athleticism will make it difficult to plug him in on the wing for extended minutes at the NBA level, there’s no denying that the second-year forward has elevated his game to another level.
Whether that level is good enough for consistent NBA minutes only time will tell. But winning MVP of the NBA’s Summer League and being named to the Summer League All-NBA First Team gives Anderson a couple accolades for all the work he’s put in to get to this point, while providing the motivation to maintain his strong work ethic and continue developing.
Anderson and the Spurs will face the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 Summer League championship game on Monday night at 8 PM in Las Vegas.
