LAS VEGAS ā€“ Trendon Watford and the Portland Trail Blazers came into the 2022 NBA offseason with more questions than answers. The hope, however, is that their NBA Summer League performance can propel them just like the last time they won it all.

Behind a monster night from Summer League MVP Trendon Watford, the Blazers defeated the New York Knicks in the 2022 Summer League Championship.

This summer's tournament was a little different from year's past. Prior to this season, the top eight NBA teams with the best record would enter a playoff bracket. Point differential and head-to-head matchups would be considered for tiebreakers. Teams would battle it out until two teams reached the Summer League Championship Game, which would usually be played on a Monday night.

This summer, the league changed things up. Instead of the bracket-style playoffs, the NBA elected to give every team four games and the top two records through those four games would play in the Championship Game. The New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, and Oklahoma City Thunder all finished with the best Summer League records at 3-1.

New York received the No. 1 seed due to their +11.8 point differential. Portland received the No. 2 seed due to their +8.3 point differential. Toronto finished with a +6.5 point differential, Milwaukee at +6.3, and Oklahoma City at +3.8

The Championship game started ugly for both teams. The first nine minutes of the opening quarter saw 23 combined points on 7-of-23 shooting to go along with 15 combined turnovers. Watford came out strong, setting the tone for another dominant Portland-style performance. He scoring seven of Portland's 12 first quarter points while coming up with three steals.

ā€œI can't say enough about him,ā€ Blazers Summer League coach Steve Hetzel said after the win. ā€œWe use the term he's just a basketball player, but I think it's the ultimate compliment. He knows how to play basketball. He can dribble, pass, shoot, defend, rebound, and he showed it all tonight. I'm so proud of him. I asked him before we came out here to just be my steadfast every day guy and be a leader by example and he took that to another level. He led, they followed, and we ended up winning, so I'm very, very proud of him.ā€

Portland bounced back with a big second quarter, outscoring New York 29-16. As a team, Portland shot 7-of-13 from three in the second quarter and lead 41-30 at the half.

Portland extended their lead to as many as 16 points in the third quarter, which they maintained to defeat the Knicks, 85-77.

Blazers forward Trendon Watford was named Summer League Championship Game MVP. He finished with a 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a blocked shot. When the MVP award was still up in the air and the Knicks trimmed Portland's 16-point lead to just seven, Trendon Watford hit a corner three-pointer, helped force a turnover, found Kyle Alexander for an open dunk, and then followed it up with his own dunk to get the lead back up to 12.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Blazers Scoot Henderson rookie season stats

Peter Sampson Ā·

Blazers guards Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe smiling

Peter Sampson Ā·

Blazers GM Joe Cronin coach Chauncey Billups

Peter Sampson Ā·

ā€˜That's who I want to be,ā€ Watford said of his taking over the game. ā€œI work out a lot and train a lot to put myself in moments like that when they're coming back. It's just a testament to my work and I'm gonna keep working.

ā€œI did [have to prove myself]. I did. Last year, I had a pretty solid year, but coming here, I just wanted to prove I can be that leader and be that figure on the team and I'm just proud of my guys. Like I said, I give credit to them. They found me night-in and night-out. Some nights it was me scoring a lot, some nights it wasn't. I'm just proud of everybody in that locker room.ā€

Jabari Walker, Portland's No. 57 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, came off the bench to pour in 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. Brandon Williams displayed excellent point guard play en route to 22 points, three rebounds, and five assists.

The Blazers are hoping this championship win will help propel them in what's going to be an interesting 2022-23 season. They notably signed Damian Lillard to an extension, re-signed Jusuf Nurkic, and traded for Jerami Grant. They won't be a championship contending team, but perhaps they'll build something special with the moves they've made and the young players they've put an emphasis on developing.