Beal reassured Davis via text after Summer League debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For Wizards’ first-round draft pick Johnny Davis, the talent was certainly there in his first Summer League game in Las Vegas. The confidence, though, may have been absent.
Davis went 1-for-11 from the field and finished with just six points and five fouls in 29 minutes. Washington would drop their comeback bid to the Pistons 105-99.
Confidence is one characteristic that often separates college basketball stars from those who go on to shine in the NBA. Summer League action is often the first time the public gets to see how much confidence draftees have as they get their first taste of pro basketball.
Luckily for the rookie, he received some sage advice from one veteran in his corner.
“I know this: after his first game, [Davis] woke up, had a text from one Bradley Beal,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a sitdown with NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller.
“It said, ‘Hey, you’re the best player on the floor. Act like it. Let’s go, get going, pick it up. Keep your head up, don’t ever get down. You’re doing great.’ That encouragement, coming from somebody like Bradley—what that means to a young kid like that, I can’t even tell you about.”
Beal isn’t new to providing his veteran leadership to younger players. Not only has he been captured giving rousing speeches to his AAU team, he’s taken the reins as the Wizards’ premier scorer and playmaker. He just signed one of the biggest deals in NBA history; a five-year, $251 million extension in Washington.
There’s nobody better to re-instill a sense of confidence into the Wizards’ latest tenth overall pick, says Sheppard.
“I’m guessing [Davis] will continue to see improvement,” Sheppard said. “But we’ve seen a lot out here, we saw a lot in our minicamp, we saw a lot in college. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Sheppard went on to confirm that Davis will continue to play Summer League ball and that the Wizards will not shut him down prior to the regular season, as some other teams have chosen to do with their draftees (see Paolo Banchero with the Magic). There’s more room to grow for the former Wisconsin guard.
Even immediately after his poor performance in the first game in Las Vegas, Davis seemed to take Beal’s advice in stride. In the next contest – a 25-point blowout win over Phoenix – Davis put up 11 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action, complemented with a +15, the best mark among starters.
“We want to get as much mileage out of these guys here as possible,” Sheppard said. “I think what’s really important was the bonding time. We had six rostered players come out here at different times. Everybody touched on Johnny and gave him advice, gave him some love, and I think it really resonated with him.”
Davis’ next chance to gain more confidence before the remainder of the offseason comes Wednesday, when the Wizards will take on the Pelicans in Summer League action.
