Winning in a 100-67 blowout against the Boston Celtics in Las Vegas, the Sacramento Kings have been crowned the 2021 NBA Summer League champs. With a 5-0 record, the Kings were the only team to go undefeated in Summer League play. This title marks the organization’s first since 2014. To start the game, Boston got out to a quick 15-4 run, but Sacramento outscored them 20-5 to end this period—and in each of the remaining quarters of the game.
Louis King took home the honors as Summer League MVP, scoring 21 points and pocketing an impressive 5 steals in the championship decider. After going undrafted in 2019, King signed a two-way contract with the Pistons before being waived last December. Hovering around the G-League for most of the 2020-21 season, Sacramento gave him a two-way deal in May. In six games for the Kings, he put up 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per appearance.
The Sacramento Kings, behind 21 points from Summer League MVP Louis King, secure their first Summer League championship since 2014.
Other players on the roster performed exceptionally. Emanuel Terry crashed the boards, hauling in 15 rebounds while adding 9 points and matching King’s 5 steals. 2020 second-round pick Jahmi’us Ramsey scored 16 points, with former Longhorn Matt Coleman contributing 14 points off the bench on 6-6 shooting.
Rookie Davion Mitchell struggled from the field—racking up 9 points on 20 percent shooting—but provided 7 assists and excellent defense en route to the victory.
The Celtics only had 2 players who scored in the double-digits: Carsen Edwards with 15 points on 5-16 shooting, and Aaron Nesmith with 12. Tournament phenom Payton Pritchard shot poorly, chipping in 6 points while missing all of his 6 three-point attempts. Boston couldn’t take care of the ball, compiling 29 turnovers to the Kings’ modest 7.
They also combined to shoot 7-36 from three—an abysmal 19 percent mark. Although the Celtics failed to execute offensively, credit is due to the Kings, whose smothering defense seemed to frustrate Boston on every possession.
For a team looking to kick a fifteen-season playoff drought, this summer league showing is an encouraging sign—hopefully indicating what good is to come in Sacramento.