Four former Illini, scheduled across three games, combined for 52 minutes of action on day three of the NBA 2K24 Summer League. Matthew Mayer, the most recent of the four to call State Farm Center home, was the only one who did not see the floor.

The first game of the day featuring a former Illini was Mayer and the Houston Rockets, who despite losing 28 minutes of their game one rotation due a minor ankle sprain of No. 4 overall pick Amen Thompson opted to not play Mayer. Even without his help, the Rockets cruised to a 113-101 win over the Detroit Pistons and now sit at 2-0 overall.

Just a few hours later it was time for one year Illini Mark Smith and the Denver Nuggets’ meeting with the Atlanta Hawks. Smith did not play in Denver’s first game of Summer League but, unlike Mayer, was granted a small role off the bench for game two. 

Carrying over between first to second and third to fourth quarters, Smith only took two shots during his seven minutes on the floor, both shots even happened to come on the same possession. Neither dropped, but during Smith’s limited time he was able to reel in four rebounds, find a teammate for a wide open corner three and was tied for the highest plus-minus on the team. Denver out-scoring the Hawks by five points while Smith was on the floor is made even more impressive when considering they lost 98-93 and now sit at 0-2 overall. 

Half an hour after Smith and the Nuggets tipped off in Cox Pavilion, Brandin Podziemski and Tevian Jones’ respective teams took the floor at Thomas and Mack Center for the final Summer League game of the night. 

Podziemski, a member of the 2021-22 Illinois men’s basketball team, was given his second consecutive start for the Golden State Warriors while Jones had to make due on the New Orleans Pelicans bench. 

With NBA legends such as Stephen Curry and Chris Paul watching from the sidelines, both Illini did not fare well from the field. Jones, who was an energized defender for all 12 of his minutes, even directly caused a miss from Podziemski in the fourth quarter by getting a hand on his shot. 

While a ten and six point outing for Podziemski and Jones does not sound like much to write home about, Podziemski made up for it by getting active on the glass and having an amazing night as a playmaker while Jones shot 50% from three point range and disrupted the Golden State offense. 

It has been clear for at least a year that Podziemski is an extremely talented rebounder for his size, averaging 8.8 per game at Santa Clara, but it was unfortunately rebounding which came to bite Podziemski as he ended the night with ten points, nine rebounds and ten assists to counteract a 3/15 shooting night. Despite his historically great seasons at Santa Clara and in high school, this would have been Podziemski’s first recorded triple-double (stats only go as far back as sophomore in high school). 

However, it was ultimately Jones and the Pelicans who came away with a 94-86 win, thanks in large part to 2022 lottery pick Dyson Daniels’ efficient near triple-double effort (17/15/8) and an efficient 25 points from Dereon Seabron. New Orleans advanced to 1-1 following the win while Golden State dropped to 0-2.

Looking forward, day four will feature just one former Illini, four year veteran Malcolm Hill, who showed out in spot minutes during the Orlando Magic’s first game. Hill and the Magic will play the Indiana Pacers at 7:30 p.m. CT, looking to win their first game of Summer League on NBA TV.

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