This year's Las Vegas NBA Summer League was the "most attended" version of the event in its history, due in large part to the presence of rookie Lakers G Lonzo Ball, according to Ed Graney of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. A total of 127,843 fans attended games at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, besting the "previous high" of around 109,000. The attendance bump can be credited in part to the "Lonzo Effect." Ball, who was named MVP of the league, had two triple-doubles in five games, while LaVar Ball "made a few made-for-TV appearances." Las Vegas Summer League co-Founder & VP/Business Operations Albert Hall said, "When you have a star like Lonzo ... that’s just an added attraction." He added, "It’s great having the star power of the top players, but I wouldn’t say summer league is any better or worse because of one player. There is just more awareness." He added, "We always knew if there were good basketball teams and it’s in Las Vegas, one of the reasons we do it here, people would come to watch. Is it thriving? Yeah. We had a really good year and are expecting it to ascend. But to say we expect sellouts and some of this other stuff, no. We just wanted to put a good product on the floor and see where things went" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/18).
SUMMER LOVIN': NPR's Tom Goldman noted the NBA is "normally way off sports fans' radar screens this time of year," but there has been "nothing normal" about this year's Summer League. The Lakers beat the Trail Blazers last night to win the league championship, and the game provided an "exclamation point to an event the NBA, local organizers and ESPN programmers say has been a raging success." ESPN Senior Manager for NBA Programming & Acquisitions Ashley O'Connor said ratings on ESPN and ESPN2 "are up 50 percent over last year's." The Review-Journal's Mark Anderson said, "I really understand now why people are drawn to it. ... It's an affordable, fun event where you can see some of the stars of tomorrow." Goldman noted the participation of top draft picks like Ball, Celtics F Jayson Tatum, Kings G De'Aaron Fox and Mavericks G Dennis Smith Jr. gave fans a "chance to see these players in their first professional games" (NPR.org, 7/17). The AP's Jon Krawczynski wrote the Summer League, which "started as a gathering of a few teams 13 years ago," has "turned into a full-fledged event" with 24 teams participating. Sponsors are "lining up to get in on the action, fans crowd the concourses looking for autographs of the next big things and established stars" like Cavaliers F LeBron James, Celtics G Isaiah Thomas and Wizards G John Wall were spotted courtside to watch games (AP, 7/17).
