Top Ten Reasons to watch the NBA Summer League

With summer comes a lot of things. Golf, funnel cakes, all-day outdoor concerts, beer gardens, baseball and my favorite summer past time... the NBA Summer League. Now being the hoops junkie I am I would watch this even without all of the reasons I would list below. Since I often get tired of hearing John Kruk blab about nothing here are ten of the better reasons I can think of to start watching.

10. The Stat Lines
Now for those of you big on statistics (and there are plenty thanks to fantasy sports) just check out the box score from a summer league game sometime. In looking at some from last year you'll notice things like former Florida State gunner Von Wafer jacking up an incredible 26 shots in 26 minutes or former Iowa big man Greg Brunner committing five fouls in only three minutes of play. These are the kind of stats that are amusing enough to look forward to the games every time they are on.

9. The rule changes
There are basically two major rule changes that I enjoy. One, there are 10 fouls allowed now instead of the standard NBA six. And two, the games are being played in 40 minutes instead of 48. With the officiating being shadier than a Donaghy playoff game then the time really flies on some of these games and they are completely enjoyable to watch while doing whatever else it is you do.

8. The celebrities
Hey if these games are good enough for dudes like Floyd Mayweather to attend then I wholeheartedly endorse this product. Especially when the color guy from the NBA network doesn't know who he is.

7. The highlights
The summer league is full of great players and great athletes playing an uptempo game with little to no defense. Now the idiotic fan will say "that sounds like the normal NBA to me" but the differences are drastic. Since most of these guys are thrown together randomly with some international players it can create a chaos in these games that is surprisingly riveting. This makes for a lot of turnovers which lead to a lot of fast breaks and thunderous dunks.

6. Great time slots
I call this phenomenon the "Independence Day Factor". Two summers ago I used to wake up hungover every morning around 11 AM only to find that Independence Day would be on one of the Cinemax channels while I consumed my breakfast. I enjoyed catching bits and pieces of the movie while reading the Sun-Times and trying not to vomit. Not only does the Summer League have that same morning hangover time slot, but it poses as a versatile double threat by being played a lot late at night after I've been out at a bar. Since NBA TV really doesn't have a lot on their plate they show these games at many points of the day, perfect to casually tune in.

5. The interviews
Since these games are often filled with European scouts and current NBA players, the television broadcast inevitably turns to an awkward interview with one of these counterparts. Since viewers don't need to listen to Nate Funk's life story again they often spend extended portions of these games talking with someone more important than the proceedings. Quentin Richardson spent nearly half of one Knicks game as a secondary color guy / interviewee as the game was in progress. This left for not only some interesting facts, but for some awkwardly funny exchanges.
Example: "Quentin are you going to be taking Danillo to some of your favorite Italian restaurants in New York?"
"Man I have no idea where to go, maybe HE can show me some good Italian places."
I also got to find out how Trajan Langdon (remember him?) was doing in Moscow thanks to an interview with his coach. Talk about versatility in one broadcast.

4. First chance to see rookies play
The games might not mean jack but it is fun to see guys like J.J. Hickson smoke the hell out of the Knicks and look like an All-Star against a team of scrubs. Then there's the intense media scrutiny about how top players look in these games when they're playing alongside guys like Coby Karl. Like Derrick Rose is really going to get assists with Summer League teammates like Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. Oh wait, those are actual Bulls players we are counting on. Just shoot me.

3. Roster sizes
Since this is basically a league of tryouts there are some teams that are filled with benches as long as a baseball team. The Kings carried seven centers on their team last year as well as Ron Artest's 300 pound brother. When the camera pans to the ends of some of these benches it has to be embarrassing to be a bench warmer in an environment like this. I love it.

2. The story lines
There are a million and one story lines that flow their the veins of the Summer League. Looking for ex-cons, former collegiate superstars, former players with alcohol problems and slightly talented non-English speaking Europeans? You've certainly come to the right place. A good writer like J.A. Adande is having an absolute field day writing feature stories on guys like this. What a league.

1. Former recognizable names
There are tons and tons of great college players who play in this league because they don't want to go to Europe yet. This makes it a who's who of Summer League fun where guys like Dee Brown are your typical run-of-the-mill players. The best recognizable name yet? Robert "Tractor" Traylor who is spending his summer playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer Team while trying to slim down to below 500 pounds. You gotta love the NBA!