Normally, an NBA head coach doesn't coach his franchise’s summer league team.
That duty usually is handled by one of his assistants.
But when former Toronto head coach Nick Nurse was hired on June 1 as the Philadelphia 76ers head coach to replace the departing Doc Rivers, he decided he was going to coach the summer league team.
“That’s big,” said former LSU guard Ja’Vonte Smart, who started and scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the 76ers 104-94 win over the Utah Jazz Wednesday night in the NBA’s Salt Lake City summer league. “Coming in, I didn’t know he was going to be the head coach.”
Smart, a Baton Rouge native who has bounced in and out of the NBA and in the NBA’s G-League in his first two seasons as a pro, certainly gave Nurse an eyeful vs. the Jazz.
With the 76ers trailing by four points at halftime, Smart ignited in a two-minute stretch early in the third quarter when he hit a 3-pointer, grabbed a rebound, made a steal that led to an assist and hit a free throw.
Then early in the fourth quarter, he had a 26-second burst with his 10-foot driving bank shot, a free throw, a steal and an assist.
“I’ve put in work all summer and I want to show I can come out here and hoop and get wins,” Smart said in a postgame TV interview with Holly Rowe. “Just keep playing hard. That’s where I’ve come up from. Playing hard, trying to get wins and keep being myself.”
Smart played in 93 games (started 76) for LSU from 2018-21. He was 11th all-time in assists (321), 12th in 3-pointers (157), 23rd in steals (112) and 31st in scoring (1,184).
Here’s what happened with former LSU players playing on day two of the NBA’s Salt Lake City Summer League:
G Ja’Vonte Smart (Philadelphia 76ers)
Started, played 28:23, scored 19 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 turnover in Philadelphia’s 104-94 win over the Utah Jazz. Was 7 of 10 (70 percent) from the field, 3 of 6 (50 percent) from 3-point range and 2 of 4 (50 percent) from the free throw line.
Smart’s summer league stats for the 1-1 76ers: Has played in two games and started once. Has averaged 23:23 minutes, 14.5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 turnovers. Has shot 11 of 16 (68.8 percent) from the field, 4 of 7 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range and 3 of 5 (60 percent) from the free throw line.
F KJ Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Did not play (coaches’ decision) in Oklahoma City’s 94-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. victory over the Utah Jazz.
Williams' summer league stats for the 1-1 Thunder: Did not play in the first two games.
Thursday’s schedule
Thunder (KJ Williams) vs. 76ers (Ja’Vonte Smart), 6 p.m. ESPN2
