LAS VEGAS — Less than a month removed from playing in the NBA Finals as a rookie, the Spurs brought Carter Bryant out to Summer League so he can continue to hone his craft.
The stakes and the situation couldn’t be more different. In June, and really in all of his games with the full San Antonio team, Bryant is a defensive-minded spark plug off the bench for a squad with plenty of depth all up and down the roster. His job responsibilities are limited and clearly defined, and his leash fairly short.
But in Vegas, Bryant is the top dog for San Antonio. In this context the 20-year-old has the freedom and the encouragement to be the leader on and off the court. That’s why he made the trip.
“The area we want to see him improve in is leadership,” said Corliss Williamson, coach of the Summer Spurs. “He’s done that in the practices he’s been in, now he’s just gotta start the game setting the tone defensively for us to get us going, and then as a decision-maker. Decisions, shotmaking, just give him opportunities to play in different spots than he’ll be in in the regular season and see if he can improve in those areas.”
Not much time has passed since he was tasked with guarding the likes of Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson for quick spurts, getting chewed out for his mistakes in the heat of battle. But that’s all a valuable part of his growth, and so is this week in Vegas as he goes from an environment where mistakes were unacceptable to one where mistakes are expected and almost encouraged.
“For myself, being a guy that’s gonna not get a ton of minutes, but somebody who has to contribute at a high level when I’m on the floor so I can play more minutes, I have to be in the best shape in the world,” he said. “That’s my main goal this year, is to be in the best shape of anybody in the NBA. I have to guard multiple guys, multiple positions no matter the strength, size, whatever the case may be.”
After spending a season learning the ropes, he now has wisdom to share with his new teammates as they adjust to life in the NBA. He’s communicating on both ends when he’s on the floor, and when he’s off it he’s on the bench sitting between his newly-drafted teammates. Tarris Reed Jr. is 22, and Jayden Quaintance just turned 19, but they can all learn from Bryant and Bryant can learn from teaching them.
“It’s very valuable for Carter,” Williamson said. “The more he can grow his voice, the more he can look at the game from a different aspect as far as being a leader and helping others, that’s just gonna help him improve. With him sitting with the young rookies, he’s just gone through what they’re about to face when they do come into the league and the season starts. His knowledge of being a rookie, and getting through the season, and what we do as Spurs, is definitely gonna help those guys.”
“It’s helped me a lot,” said second-round pick Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who is showcasing his playmaking and defense here in Vegas. “When we first got to San Antonio, he was there working out with us in minicamp. He was the leader on the court, he was helping us all figure out how it goes. He helps us, all of us, a lot.”
In his rookie year, Bryant’s role on offense was to space the floor and either shoot or attack off the catch. On a team with so many star shot creators, the rookie wing was almost never the one initiating the offense. But in two games in Summer League, he’s run more pick and rolls as the ball handler than he did in his entire first season. It’s a tremendous opportunity for him to work on growing that part of his game.
“We do expect his game to open up more,” Williamson said. “He made some shots for us this season and we have confidence in his shooting ability. One area we’d like to see him do better at is attacking downhill, getting to the basket and finishing there.”
Bryant attempted 265 shots in the regular season, and most of them were set shots from beyond the arc. According to the NBA’s play tracking data, he hit 49 of 140 on catch-and-shoot triples this season, a serviceable 35%. Now he needs to work on putting the ball on the floor to make a play.
“I think my handle has to get a lot better,” Bryant added. “I think I’m seeing the game super clearly, but I’ve got to do a better job of just pounding the ball, being tighter with the handle. But the reads, I don’t see any problem with the reads. I’m seeing the game develop fairly fast, and when my handle develops, it’ll slow the game down a lot. When my teammates are open, it’s such a high level that those windows are small. Getting shooters a shot a second earlier makes a hell of a difference.”
It’s impossible to grow if you stay in your comfort zone, and Summer League is the perfect place for Bryant to swim in the deep end with no real consequences. In his first game against the Atlanta Hawks, he looked less like one of the most talented players in this tournament and more like a guy who hadn’t played in a hot minute.
“That first game I feel like I had to knock the rust off a little bit,” Bryant said, disappointed in his inefficient debut. “I ain’t played a basketball game since Game 5 of the Finals. Every night’s not gonna be your night. I had four turnovers, I’m missing coverages defensively, I’m not being as intense defensively, I just got to be better on that side of the basketball. Offense is gonna come, as it did in the second half for myself.”
Bryant finished with 12 points and shot 1-7 from deep. He made some bad passes that ended in turnovers, but also some really good ones that didn’t end in assists. During a cold first-half he switched his shoes, and in the second half he looked a lot better.
“He came out, set the tone for us defensively early in the second half,” Williamson said. “For his first game back, there’s still a little rust there, so it was just good for him to be out on the court, get a feel for the game again, and we know he’ll be better the next game.”
“It’s little stuff, like getting your wind back, driving the ball, playing through contact,” Bryant said. “Working out can only do so much, obviously it’s really good development for your game, but the difference between that and playing on the court with other live bodies that have size and things of that nature, it’s a big deal.”
As far as player development is concerned, there’s no substitute for live reps. Much like the G League, Summer League is less about declaring a winner and more about evaluating and refining talent through the crucible of competition.
“It’s all a process,” Williamson said. “The bigger picture is for us to win games during the regular season. Of course we want to win games now, but we’re definitely trying to implement our system and get them acclimated to it, but the main focus is development in the summertime.”
Still, the competitor in Bryant didn’t like the outcome of the 93-66 defeat against Atlanta one bit.
“Losing is unacceptable, especially like that, especially for this franchise, so I’m gonna be better as we move forward,” Bryant said. “When do we play next, Saturday? Saturday will be a lot better.”
By Saturday the rust was gone, and Bryant took his rightful place as the alpha on the court.
“I thought he played a lot better this game,” Williamson said. “He settled in, it was the second game so he had a better feel for the game tonight, did a better job of getting downhill, being a leader out there, waiting for the right shots, so I was definitely happy with how he played tonight.”
To open the scoring he took a handoff at the top of the arc from Reed, drove hard into Mohamad Diawara who played a bit with the Knicks this year, and knocked him clear out of the way for an off-balance jumper that he drilled. He missed a baseline fader, but when Gillespie grabbed the board Bryant got back into the corner to take another try. A defender flew by on his pump fake, and he created about six feet of space as he took one dribble to the side and swished it.
“Making shots is gonna come with the game,” he said. “I work on those shots, I drill those shots every day: catch-and-shoot 3s, getting to my pull-up, bump, all that good stuff, so just understanding that’s something that comes with time.”
Twice more he drove, put his shoulder into someone’s chest, and pulled up for an in-between jumper. Twice he got back in transition, leapt halfway out of the gym, and obliterated a layup attempt from behind. Once he picked off an inbound pass after the Spurs made a basket and crammed it home.
“His main calling card is gonna be on defense for us,” Williamson said. “He had two good blocks for us and set the tone defensively by picking them up full court.”
On one drive Bryant got pulled down on a hard foul right as he went up, and somehow managed to throw it up and in.
In his second attempt, Bryant was able to execute on exactly what he came to Vegas to do. Will he play in any more of San Antonio’s games? That’s the question facing San Antonio right now.
“We’re talking about it,” Williamson said when asked about it after Saturday’s game. “Started off saying he’d play two games, so he’s played two. The second game was a lot better, and we saw what we needed to see.”
Bryant checked most of the boxes the team wanted him to in this trip, and whether he plays or not he’ll continue to work on being a mentor and a leader. But Carter Bryant is a hooper, and a competitor. He wants to be out there because he loves it, and because he knows it’s making him better. That’s all he wants.
“I think I showed flashes of what I’m capable of in the future, but just understanding that there’s a lot of work I have to do to get to that point if I’m gonna be one of the best players in the world,” he said. “This is all just a learning experience coming out to play, and I’ll just continue – hoping to continue to do that.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google
