The NBA Summer League is in full swing in Las Vegas right now, and some rookies are already showing up and making a massive difference. Former Duke basketball point guard Tyrese Proctor has been one of the standouts so far for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After speculation of coming back, he decided to enter the draft, and it seems the decision has paid off.
The Cleveland Cavaliers fell short to the undefeated Sacramento Kings in their most recent Summer League game, 94-86. However, the game's story is what Tyrese Proctor did for the Cavaliers. The Former Duke basketball point guard was thrust into having more responsibilities with Jaylon Tyson and Craig Porter Jr. both out, and he delivered with 35 points, four assists, and two steals.
The Duke basketball Instagram account noticed his performance and praised him with the caption, “Rese cooked up a 35 burger with exclamation mark emoji, hamburger emoji, and bicep emoji.” The account posted 20 different pictures and clips highlighting Proctor's epic performance.
Proctor struggled from behind the three-point line, only making four of his 14 attempts. However, Proctor's on-ball confidence and quick trigger are inspiring signs for his potential not just with the Cavaliers, but for his NBA future in general.
Tyrese Proctor falling to the late second round seems crazy in hindsight after a performance like this. He was relegated to a sharpshooter in college because last season's Duke basketball team had so much scoring power thanks to Cooper Flagg, Kon Kneuppel, and Khaman Maluach.
As a key piece on the Final Four run this past season, Proctor averaged 12.4 points, 2.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game in his last season. His performance in Wednesday night's Summer League game proves that the Australian prospect has much more to his overall game than he showed consistently at Duke.
One of the keys that immediately jumps out about Proctor is his size. He is 6-foot-6 and weighs 185 pounds. That frame and length are a difference maker for him, so they differentiate him as an NBA prospect.
The 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils were a loaded team that saw five different players get drafted. Cooper Flagg was the highlight after being picked with the first overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. Then, Kon Kneuppel and Khaman Maluach were also picked in the top 10 by the Charlotte Hornets and the Phoenix Suns. Sion James and Tyrese Proctor rounded out the Blue Devils draft, with James also heading to Charlotte and Proctor to Cleveland.
There is also an argument that, despite waiting as long as he did, Proctor has a significant advantage in where he ended up and learning from Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
