One of six former Illini suiting up for the NBA 2K24 Summer League, Tevian Jones signed to the New Orleans Pelicans Summer League squad just one day after going undrafted, as reported by Jon Chepkevich.
Jones seemed to carve out a spot in the rotation during his freshman season with Illinois, appearing in 24 games while averaging 3.5 points and 1.4 rebounds. However, the ascension of star guard Ayo Dosunmu during the 2019-20 season left very few minutes to spare for Jones, as he appeared in just 13 of 31 games.
Opting for playtime rather than program reputation, Jones transferred to Southern Utah where he averaged 30.8 minutes per game across three seasons. Given that extra time, Jones saw significant statistical increases on route to averaging 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game during his time as a Thunderbird.
To kick off the NBA 2K24 Summer League, Jones was faced with an all too familiar conundrum and given just nine minutes of play. Despite this, the Arizona native managed to capitalize on his limited opportunities, attempting two shots and making all three free throws when fouled on the latter.
Checking in at the 3:25 mark of the first quarter, Jones finished out the quarter with his only counting stats being a pair of fouls. To open the second quarter, Jones almost immediately attempted a shot from behind the arc that unfortunately did not drop. Seconds later, Jones was subbed out and did not return until there was 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.
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This time around, Jones was fouled while taking another shot from behind the arc and knocked in all three free throws. Jones finished out the third quarter. Although the Pelicans ultimately went on to lose 102-88, they were +2 while Jones was on the court, which was the second highest plus minus by any Pelican.
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