Dennis Smith, Jr. Named to All Summer League First Team

It hasn’t even been a month since the Mavs took Dennis Smith, Jr. with the ninth pick on draft night, but he has already made a big impression with Mavs and NBA fans alike.

Following an impressive performance in the Las Vegas Summer League, the rookie point guard was named to the All Summer League First Team on Monday.  In six games, Smith, Jr. averaged an impressive and well balanced 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.  Smith, Jr. and young point guard Yogi Ferrell were able to lead the Mavericks all the way to the semifinal game of the league’s tournament before falling to Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

Joining Dennis Smith, Jr. on the First Team are Ball, Josh Collins of the Atlanta Hawks, Josh Jackson of the Phoenix Suns and Caleb Swanigan of the Portland Trailblazers.  

All five members of the First Team are fresh off being selected in the draft last month.  In 2016, the All Summer League First Team consisted of rookie Ben Simmons and four other second year players (Tyus Jones, Alan Williams, Jordan McRae and Bobby Portis).  

Dennis Smith, Jr. is the first Maverick to make a Summer League First or Second Team since Dominique Jones made the first team back in 2010 after being taken with the 25th overall pick.  His rookie year stats?  2.3 points per game in just over 7 minutes per game.  It won’t be difficult for Smith, Jr. to do better than that this season.

The North Carolina State alum is creating more buzz than any new Mavs player in recent memory.  Countless tweets from all around the country were raving about him each time the Mavs were on the court.  The national love and media coverage was more than the Mavs have had in a few seasons outside of Dirk Nowitzki’s 30 point game in March.

Hopefully his Summer League performance is just a delicious appetizer for what will be an entree that will feed and satisfy Mavs fans for years to come.  With the schedule coming out next month, get ready to mark your calendar to see when we’ll get to see the electric 19 year-old point guard play a regular season game in a Dallas uniform for the first time.