Ignas Brazdeikis was the 47th pick in the NBA Draft, so the casual fan may have been surprised to see him knocking down threes, executing spin moves and finishing around the rim in the Summer League.
But those that know Brazdeikis well weren't.
"He's always been able to score," Andrew Saulez, Brazdeikis' coach at Holy Trinity High School, says. "…. Some of the stuff that you saw at Michigan and at Summer League, the buckets that he gets at weird angles, using the glass, getting into the lane, spinning and scoring -- he's been doing that since Grade 6 or 7."
Brazdeikis averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists for New York in the Summer League. He also knocked down 11 of his 22 three-point attempts. It was only Summer League, so those who are penciling Brazdeikis in as Rookie of the Year are getting ahead of themselves.
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