Nets’ Wilson grabs MVP honors in Vegas

Forward averages 21.8 points per game in Summer League

July 23, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Nets forward Jalen Wilson was named Most Valuable Player of the NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 on Monday. AP Photo by Chris Szagola

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Jalen Wilson spent most of his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets just waiting for a chance to get on the hardwood.

During his second Summer League campaign, he certainly proved he was NBA-worthy and perhaps vaulted himself into being a regular part of new head coach Jordi Fernandez’s rotation next season.

Wilson was named Most Valuable Player of NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 on Monday after averaging 21.8 points and 4.6 rebounds during Brooklyn’s 3-2 run through the annual tournament.

Though the Nets bowed out following Sunday’s 97-90 loss to Charlotte at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center, their 6-foot-6, second-round pick out of Kansas in the 2023 NBA Draft built on a strong finish to his first foray into the league, and then some.

Wilson saved his best for last during the regular season, putting up 7.6 points and 5.4 boards over Brooklyn’s final six contests in April.

Though they failed to reach the postseason for the first time in six years, the Nets did get a chance to work Wilson into the rotation more than they had during the campaign’s first five months.

He and fellow first-year players Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead saw more action under interim coach Kevin Ollie after it became apparent that talent evaluation would override chasing a playoff spot.

Wilson averaged a season-high 24.1 minutes per contest in April, finishing his rookie year with 43 games played, including three starts.

In Vegas, there was no limit to his participation, and Wilson took full advantage of the opportunity.

He especially dazzled from beyond the arc, burying an eye-popping 55 percent (22-of-40) of his 3-pointers after finishing the season 24-of-74 from outside the line.

Wilson took command of last Thursday’s 102-100 triumph over Orlando, amassing a personal-best 33 points, including an acrobatic, off-balance, game-winning layup in overtime.

He finished 11-of-20 from the field, went 6-of-7 from 3-point range and also buried all five of his free throws.

“It just shows the grit, it shows the heart that we have,” Wilson said. “We kept our composure through games that we have been down. Or like this game, we were up this game and kind of let the lead go away. So, we just showed our composure and showed our will to win.”

Forward Keon Johnson showed off his all-around game during Brooklyn’s five-game run in the Summer League in Las Vegas. AP Photo by John Raoux

For the second straight summer, Wilson was named to the tournament’s All-Second Team and became the second Net to grab MVP honors at the event, joining teammate Cam Thomas, who was Brooklyn’s leading scorer last season.

“I thought it was really great,” Wilson said of his experience at the tournament. “(I want to) keep improving on my shot. You can never put up enough shots.”

When he gets back from the Paris Olympics, where he is coaching Team Canada, Fernandez will have plenty of time to evaluate how many more minutes Wilson will get next season.

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In other Nets news over the weekend, the Nets re-signed forward Keon Johnson to a multi-year deal, though terms of the pact were not officially disclosed, as per team policy.

Johnson averaged 6.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game in five contests for Brooklyn last year and spent 26 contests with the franchise’s G-League affiliate on Long Island.

He also impressed during the Summer League campaign, averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks also pulled off a swap, bringing in former lottery pick Ziaire Williams and Dallas’ second-round pick from Memphis in 2030 for forward Mamadi Diakite and the draft rights to Nemanja Dangubic.

The Nets acquired forward Ziaire Williams from Memphis over the weekend, as well as Dallas’ 2030 second-round pick. AP Photo by Craig Lassig

The 6-foot-9 Williams played 150 games in his fist three NBA seasons with Memphis, averaging 7.5 points on 42.6 percent shooting from the field and 80.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line to go with 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.6 minutes per game.

Diakite arrived here originally in the July 6 deal that sent former Nets forward Mikal Bridges to the arch rival New York Knicks.