NBA Summer League Mid Major Players to Watch

The NBA Summer League is in full swing and some mid-major players are proving they have what it takes at the professional level. Here's five players to key an eye on this summer.

Jul 18, 2024

The 2024 NBA Draft saw several Mid-Major players taken in the first and second round. DaRon Holmes II out of Dayton was selected by the Suns at #22 (unfortunately Holmes suffered a season-ending injury) and Dillon Jones out of Weber State was selected at #26 (traded to the Thunder).

In the second round, Ajay Mitchell out of UC Santa Barbara was selected at #38 by the Knicks (traded to the Thunder) and Enrique Freeman out of Akron was selected by the Pacers at #50.

Now, a couple of weeks into the Summer League, there’s some notable former Mid-Major players standing out. Let’s take a look at our top five:

Ajay Mitchell

It should be no surprise to anyone that Ajay Mitchell is showing out in the NBA Summer League. Through two games, Mitchell is averaging 18 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Against the Heat on Monday, Mitchell dominated with 21 points, two rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block in 25 minutes.

In his last year at UC Santa Barbara, Mitchell averaged 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game. In total over three years, he averaged 16.1 points, three rebounds, and four assists per game. Some journalists, scouts, and fans even had him potentially getting drafted in the first round, however, he fell to the second where he’ll fit in nicely with the Thunder as a long-term asset.

Unfortunately, per Joel Lorenzi (Thunder beat writer) Mitchell (nor Dillon Jones) will be available for the remainder of the team’s Summer League.

Enrique Freeman

The former Akron Zip standout was drafted in the second round with the 50th pick by the Pacers in the NBA Draft this summer. Thus far through three games, Freeman is averaging 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1 block per game.

At Akron, Freeman had an amazing journey, starting out as a walk-on, but working his way to earning a scholarship after a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his senior season at Akron, Freeman averaged 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game, while finishing the season as the NCAA Season Rebound Leader. That was good enough to make him an AP Honorable Mention All-American.

The Pacers have a two-way contract battle playing out on their Summer League roster, with Johnny Furphy out of Kansas certainly locking one up (potentially maybe even a full roster spot with the way he is playing). Keep an eye out on Freeman as one of the potential emerging players who could find himself splitting time between the Mad Ants and the Pacers.

Daeqwon Plowden

Daeqwon Plowden hails from Bowling Green where he is the school’s leader in 154 games played, totaling 1,618 points, 935 rebounds and 126 blocks. In his senior year, Plowden averaged 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks.

Out of college, Plowden went undrafted, but signed with the Birmingham Squadron. In his first year in the G-League, Plowden averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists across 24 games. The following season, he signed with the Osceola Magic where he saw an uptick in playing time, averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 33 games.

This summer, he joined the Golden State Warriors where he dominated. Across five games, he averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. To show his growth, he shot an astounding 48% from 3pt range (13/27). That was enough for the Warriors to sign Plowden to a two-way deal just this week.

Riley Minix

Riley Minix had an incredible ride at Morehead State and his journey started at Southeastern, a NAIA school. After four years at Southeastern where he was a two time NAIA All-American, Minix transferred to Morehead State to utilize his 5th year. At Morehead, he was named the OVC Player of the year, averaging 20.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1 block, and 1.3 steals per game.

After going undrafted, Minix inked a Summer League deal with the San Antonio Spurs. He appeared in his first game on Tuesday, but he certainly did not disappoint, posting 16 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists on 6-11 shooting (4/6 from 3pt).

The jury will still be out on whether Minix could potentially land a two-way deal, but with his talent, there is no doubt he could spend the season in the G-League. Similarly, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him end up like Daeqwon Plowden, where he could spend a year or so in the G-League, keep improving his game and land a two-way deal.

Keep an eye on Minix as the remainder of the Summer League plays out!

Ryan Rollins

Ryan Rollins has already bounced around a bit in the NBA entering his third year professionally, while still being just 22 years old as of the first of the month. Rollins spent his collegiate career at Toledo where he was named the MAC Freshman of the year and a member of the First-team All-MAC. In his Sophomore season, he averaged 18.9 points, 6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.

After his Sophomore year, he declared for the NBA draft where he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round with the 44th pick. He was then traded to the Golden State Warriors where he appeared in 12 games, averaging 1.9 points, 1 rebound, and 0.5 assists prior to a season-ending injury. In the G-League, Rollins averaged 18.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1 steal across 9 games.

Rollins was then traded to the Wizards, averaging 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 10 games. He was then waived and picked up by the Bucks, playing in just 3 games. However, he inked a two-year two-way contract with Milwaukee. On the season in the G-League, he averaged 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals across 15 games.

Now, Rollins is looking to secure more minutes on the Bucks with a strong Summer League performance. Thus far through three games, Rollins is averaging 15 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

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