The 2023 NBA Summer League is now in the books, and it gave a number of players the opportunity to flash their potential and possibly earn a spot in the big leagues.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a mix of can’t-miss players, prospects that are looking to get some playing time with their big league squad and those who are fighting for a spot somewhere in the league.
Guard D’Moi Hodge from the University of Missouri, who went undrafted this year, was picked up by the Lakers last month, and once summer league play began, they moved quickly to ink him to a two-way contract. So far, it looks like a very good investment.
Hodge proved he can be a flamethrower
In college, Hodge incrementally improved his 3-point shooting, and this past season he made 40.0 percent of his attempts from downtown. It’s a skill that NBA teams can never have enough of, as well as one that can translate very well to the big leagues.
He got off to a slow start in the first game of the California Classic in Sacramento, but he started to pick it up in the next contest, going 2-of-4 from long-range.
As the main summer league in Las Vegas progressed, Hodge seemed to get better. He went 3-of-8 from downtown on July 7 versus the Golden State Warriors, then he exploded for 22 points while shooting 6-of-13 from deep against the Boston Celtics five days later.
The 6-foot-4 guard seemed to save his best for last, putting up 23 points on 7-of-11 from 3-point land in the summer league finale on July 17. On that night against the Los Angeles Clippers, he seemingly couldn’t miss.
Hodge also came up with five steals in that contest. He averaged a healthy number of steals in college, and he seems to have the ability to disrupt opposing offenses. He ended up getting 1.8 steals a game in the five contests played in Las Vegas.
The Lakers will likely still be in need of 3-point snipers once the new season starts, and Hodge is starting to look like a candidate to fill that need once he gets in a bit of seasoning.
Final Grade: A
Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire