The much anticipated and earthquake-shortened start to the Pelicans’ 2019 Summer League featured that year’s first draft pick Zion Williamson and third overall pick RJ Barrett. With an instant classic steal and slam to boot, it was about as exciting as a Summer League game could get.
The Summer League Pelicans returned today after sitting out the 2020 festivities with the rest of the NBA due to the COVID pandemic. The pandemic has unfortunately not gone away, and NBA play continues to be affected, but the league has opted to continue nonetheless.
Expectations for today’s contest against the Chicago Bulls paled in comparison to the 2019 matchup against the Knicks, but this year’s first round pick was sure to challenge the highlight standard set by Williamson:
Trey Murphy III, the 17th overall pick this year and the Pelicans’ only selection in the first round, let Marko Simonovic and the rest of the league know that he isn’t only on the court to knock down open jumpshots.