Spurs' Anderson named summer league MVP
Forward Kyle Anderson became the latest positive development in the San Antonio Spurs‘ offseason Sunday when he was named MVP of the NBA summer league.
The 30th overall pick of the Spurs in 2014 out of UCLA, Anderson has averaged 22 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in Las Vegas, leading the team to a 5-1 record and into Monday’s championship game against the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Anderson and the Spurs are being coached by Becky Hammon, the first woman to be head coach of a summer league team.
Anderson also was honored by being selected to the summer league first team, where he was joined by Seth Curry of the New Orleans Pelicans, Doug McDermott of the Chicago Bulls, Norman Powell of the Toronto Raptors and T.J. Warren of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver Nuggets rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay headlines the second team, which also includes the Pelicans’ Larry Drew II, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks, Noah Vonleh of the Portland Trail Blazers and Alan Williams of the Houston Rockets.
Anderson put together his best performance on July 16 against the Brooklyn Nets, scoring 25 points to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“I had a tough May and June of working hard, not really competing against people,” Anderson said on July 4. “But to finally get out here and compete, I just want to show all the work I’ve put in to myself since June and May. [I’m] just coming out here to have fun, play basketball, find some mistakes that I’ve made during these games so I can correct them for when October rolls around.”
Anderson’s strides in the summer league are encouraging for the Spurs, as he’s a prime candidate to take on a more significant role in 2015-16. Although San Antonio landed LaMarcus Aldridge and David West and re-signed Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, it had to part ways with key role players such as Aron Baynes, Tiago Splitter, Cory Joseph and Marco Belinelli.
“I think I’ve improved tremendously since the first day I got drafted,” Anderson said. “I think I didn’t really know a lot about the NBA game coming into the season last year. I think I know a little bit more, but there’s still room to improve, still a lot to learn.
“I know we’re going to have a great roster put together. I want to be out there on that floor. So I’m going to put [in] whatever work I need to. We have a great starting lineup already, great core guys. So I’m just going to do whatever it takes to get on the floor.”
The summer league featured 23 NBA teams and the NBA D-League select team playing in 67 games over 11 days.
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