Wendell Carter Jr. was the star of the Summer League. So far, it's been the Luka Doncic show in the regular season. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Summer League success doesn't mean immediate stardom

It happens every year. A top draft pick struggles at the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League, while a few less-heralded players make the world believe they were wronged for not being picked higher.

This July, Wendell Carter Jr. and Kevin Knox had the NBA world fawning over their star potential (The Post's then-NBA writer felt strongly enough about Carter after Summer League to promote him into his Top 100 players, along with only one other rookie, Luka Doncic).

Marvin Bagley, the No. 2 overall pick, caught some flack, while Trae Young heard moans about his erratic shooting. Doncic, coming off a busy stretch of international play, didn't participate at all. "The Rookie of the Year race is wide-open," one ESPN writer declared.

More than a quarter into the actual season, we are seeing that, as usual, those were overreactions to a short window of exhibition play against other summer leaguers rather than actual NBA competition over an 82-game grind.

At this early stage, Carter looks solid but not spectacular (though going for 28 and seven on Friday certainly helped). Knox, billed as a shooter, has thus far disappointed for the Knicks, shooting just 34.2 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three, while being outplayed by an undrafted rookie, Allonzo Trier.

Meanwhile, Doncic has proved to be the universal front-runner for rookie of the year. Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 pick, has been superb, as well, even if folks are poking him about his defensive deficiencies (reminder: he's a rookie). Jaren Jackson Jr., on the other hand, looks like on a monster on defense.

Young started red-hot then cooled off. Collin Sexton did the exact opposite. Bagley is rounding into form for a surprising (and surprisingly patient) Kings team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks like a steal for the Clippers.

Be patient. These are rookies. Summer League is helpful in evaluating strengths and weaknesses, but it's no crystal ball for what's to come. The regular season is a different animal, filled with faster, stronger players and smarter defenses.

These freshmen, who compose a wildly talented class, need time to grow, not huge expectations weighing them down out of the gate.

– Glenn Yoder, NBA editor

As always, feel free to reach out to us on Twitter (@glennyoder and @bythomasjohnson) or via email (glenn.yoder@washpost.com and thomas.johnson@washpost.com).

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The best of #NBATwitter and R/NBA

Bringing you the best NBA chatter from both Twitter and Reddit here, because lucky for you (less so for me), my job requires staring at social media platforms most of the day.  

- Tom Johnson (@bythomasjohnson)

If you were to scour NBA rosters, it would be difficult to find a better fit to host a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything. I know you know what it stands for, but just in case) than Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson. If you've spent any time on the NBA subreddit, you know that there are few types of posts that are guaranteed crowd pleasers: unusual stats, transcendent plays/performances, quirky quotes and weird outfits. In these regards, Klay is a content factory.

A few examples from the last two months:

• Klay sets a NBA record with 14 threes, and 52 points, in three quarters.
• "Go on a little win streak...it will not matter, and this will be in the past like a ponytail." -- Klay's response to a reporter's question about the Kevin Durant - Draymond Green drama.
• Klay arrives for the game dressed as Jackie Moon.

With that in mind, expectations were high for his Nov. 30 AMA, a format that is very much dependent on the effort and interest of the person hosting it. Klay answered about 20 questions, but the highlight is probably this one. 

"You are stranded on an island and can choose three NBA players to survive with you. Who do you chose and why?" (u/finester39)

Klay:  "Probably Steven Adams up first because he looks like Aquaman and he would be well versed in the ocean. Then probably Steph because it seems like he's a good critical thinker and solves problems really well. And a third, man that's a good question... who do I know in the NBA that likes to do outdoor stuff. I'd probably pick, Karl Malone because guy is a great hunter I guess. He'd be the hunter and gatherer of the crew. He has huge elbows, knock some animals out." 

Do more of these, Klay. 

Here are a couple neat-o stats graphics from the first quarter of the season:

As you may have noticed by now, this section can skew slightly toward Miami. (I will not apologize for this.) Glenn pointed out that last week that I made a  casual reference to Donovan Mitchell being Dwyane Wade's heir apparent in a manner that suggested that this is a common sentiment. (It should be). So I probably shouldn't assume that you folks are following the Wade jersey exchange story line as closely as my Miami brethren.

To commemorate his final season, Wade has been strategically swapping signed jerseys with stars on different teams after the game, and let me tell you, he's building up quite the collection. Here are just a few of the names: Anthony Davis, Kyle Lowry, Vince Carter, C.J. McCollum and of course, Mitchell. 

I'm not sure how much wall space Wade has dedicated to these jerseys, but I am curious to see what he does with all of them by the end of the season. A giant eBay sale would be the best scenario. 

Here are a few weird and wonderful NBA Reddit threads worth a few minutes your time:

Shaq tries his own version of Kyrie's viral leaning stretches

Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) are both on pace to finish in the top 5 for MVP this season. The last time 2 international players finished in the top 5 for MVP was 2007 when Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Steve Nash (South Africa/Canada) finished as the MVP and runner-up.

[Slater] As part of his comeback from injury, Curry scrimmaged against a "ragtag squad" that included Mychel Thompson, Klay's older brother, and assistant coach/ex-NBA player Willie Green

• Best comment: "Jimmy would have scrimmaged with them"

Jamal Murray fakes out KCP before waving goodbye

Cool quotes, bro:

Klay Thompson on Warriors-Raptors matchup: "This might be a preview of June. They got something really special up in Canada right now"

Giannis says, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna punch him in the stands next time" when asked if Hezonja stepping over him bothered him.

Doc Rivers: Giannis is up there with LeBron and KD as the toughest to gameplan for. You have to build a wall around the basket to guard him.

Robert Covington on holding teammates (Towns) accountable: "You can't sugar coat things. That's one thing we had back in Philly and the same thing I'm bringing here. Tell guys if they f---in' up that they f---in' up."

A few more statistical oddities:

At 49.3%, Derrick Rose has now passed Steph Curry to lead all guards in the NBA in 3pt shooting. (As of Dec. 1)

LeBron is Shooting 39% on Deep 3pt-Shots (25-29ft). He's Averaging 37% From 3 on a Career-High 6 Attempts per game (As of Dec. 1)

Since the jimmy butler trade the sixers are 27th defensively, Minnesota is 4th (As of Nov. 29)

Frank Ntilikina improves on his 0/0/0/0/0 game in 15 min with a 0/0/2/0/0 in 14 min game against the Sixers

Monday
Denver Nuggets at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. NBA League Pass
Spicy matchup alert! After a five-game win streak, the Nuggets are tied with the Clippers for the Western Conference's best record. They take on the Raptors team that sits at the top of the Eastern Conference after winning eight straight games. 

Tuesday
Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m. NBA League Pass
Don't look now, but after starting the season 2-7, the Mavericks are firmly in the playoff conversation. After beating the then-first-place Clippers on Sunday night with Luka Doncic sidelined, the Mavs face another formidable challenge, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

Wednesday
Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors, 8 p.m. ESPN
This will be the toughest challenge Philadelphia faces since it traded for Jimmy Butler. Toronto is awfully tough to beat at home (10-2 as of Dec. 3). Best case scenario: we get a close game with Kawhi Leonard and Butler trading important baskets in the final minute. 

Thursday
Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz, 10:30 p.m. TNT
When the schedule was released who would' hae guessed that neither of these second-round opponents would be in the playoff picture a quarter of the way into the season? Still, there should be more than enough talent on the court to make this matchup worthwhile. 

Friday
Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks, 9:30 p.m. ESPN
Milwaukee's 23-point win in Golden State is probably their signature win so far season. Steph Curry should be on the court this time around, which adds intrigue. But make no mistake, the marquee matchup is clearly Giannis Antetokounmpo versus Kevin Durant. 

Saturday 
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks, 6 p.m. NBA League Pass
Ten days after walloping the Rockets by 20 points, the young Mavericks back court will likely have to deal with a healthy Chris Paul now that he has returned from a three-game absence.

Sunday
Milwaukee Bucks at Toronto Raptors, 6 p.m. NBA TV
If you like stars with disproportionate hands and wingspans, then this should be appointment viewing. One of the benefits of having Kawhi Leonard in the Eastern Conference is we now get to regularly see him try to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. Yes, it's early, but I'm already rooting for this to be a playoff matchup. 

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