NBA Summer League: Zach Norvell notches 20 points

Zach Norvell scored 20 points on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the New York Knicks, 117-96.

It was the sort of game that opens eyes for Norvell. He played a total of 22 minutes and went four-of-seven from long range. Norvell signed a two-way contract with the Lakers prior to the start of the Summer League, and despite the Lakers 0-4 record, he is probably one of the brightest spots from the past couple of weeks of basketball.

Miles Simon, the Lakers summer league head coach, thinks Norvell can be an NBA Player.

“If he can make shots and continue to be good defensively. For rookies, the way to get on the floor is to not hurt your team on the defensive side of the ball. And we’ve already seen in just a week’s time some great improvement, especially on film. He really picks things up fast, coverage-wise,” Simon said. “He’s a super vocal guy. He’s a guy that I think has a promising future for the Lakers.”

Simon said that Norvell’s basketball IQ has made him “fantastic” to work with, and while Norvell himself says that he thinks his “confidence” and his shooting skill will take him “a long way” in the league, he also knows that there are several things he needs to continue to get better at, in both summer league and beyond.

Josh Perkins saw only 11 minutes of play last night, finishing with just three points.