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NBA Summer League 2024: Hot Takes on Bronny, DJ Burns, More from Day 1 Results

Paul Kasabian

The NBA 2K25 Summer League officially kicked off on Friday from Las Vegas with seven games.

Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers were in action, as was NCAA tournament legend DJ Burns for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr—the NBA draft's top two picks—made their debuts as well against each other.

Here's a look at how they did, some reactions to the performances and a look at the night's results.

Day 1 Scores

Orlando Magic 106, Cleveland Cavaliers 79

Minnesota Timberwolves 81, New Orleans Pelicans 74

Memphis Grizzlies 103, Sacramento Kings 83

Houston Rockets 99, Los Angeles Lakers 80

Brooklyn Nets 97, Indiana Pacers 95

Washington Wizards 94, Atlanta Hawks 88

Los Angeles Clippers 88, Denver Nuggets 78

Bronny James

Bronny James showed more offensive aggressiveness from the jump against the Houston Rockets after taking just 11 combined field goals over his first two summer league games.

However, it was a tough shooting night for James, who made just 3-of-14 field goals (0-of-8 from three-point range) for eight points in a 99-80 loss.

James did add five rebounds and two steals in his 27 minutes.

He scored six first-quarter points, including this bucket following an assist from fellow rookie Dalton Knecht.

Fans reacted to his performance.

It's been a tough offensive start to James' summer league (6-of-26 from the field, 0-of-12 from three), but he's only three exhibition games into his time as a Laker. His next game will be Monday against the Boston Celtics.

DJ Burns

Burns didn't get much run for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 106-79 loss to the Orlando Magic, posting four points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 12 minutes.

Burns got his first summer league points off a putback and later added another bucket in the paint for his second field goal.

Burns has definitely lost weight from his NC State days, but he's still a big player and hard to deal with.

Burns obviously has his fans, still.

Hopefully we'll see Burns get more run in the Cavs' second game, which will be against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Risacher vs. Sarr

Sarr and the Washington Wizards defeated Risacher and the Atlanta Hawks 94-86. Sarr had 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and seven rebounds but did his best work on the defensive end with four blocks and a steal. Three of those blocks occurred in a 23-second span.

Analysts were impressed with Sarr in the early going.

Risacher scored 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting alongside five rebounds. He did work all over the court, including a coast-to-coast left-handed jam with Sarr trailing and a few threes.

Risacher got some good reviews for Night 1.

Washington will play the Houston Rockets next on Sunday. The Hawks also play that day against the San Antonio Spurs.

Jordan Miller

Jordan Miller went off for 36 in the Los Angeles Clippers' 88-78 win over the Denver Nuggets. He shot 11-of-18 from the field and made six of 10 attempts from three-point range in 30 minutes.

The 2023 second-round pick caught the attention of two key people in the Clippers organization after his stellar performance.

Fans and analysts were eager to heap praise on Miller after his outstanding Summer League debut:

While the Clippers certainly aren't in a rebuild, the loss of Paul George and are still rumored to be talking with the Nuggets about trading Russell Westbrook could open playing time for some of the younger players on the roster.

If Miller continues to display this type of shooting ability for the remainder of Summer League, he will at least give head coach Tyronn Lue a reason to consider giving him a spot in the rotation going into training camp.

The Clippers will be back in action against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. The Nuggets will take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

   

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