In a hyped-up NBA draft class, Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Emoni Bates has flown under the radar of many NBA scouts and executives. As many of us should be aware, the 2023 NBA Draft class has introduced a lot of young athletes to the NBA who have the potential to turn into future stars in the league. Victor Wemabanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, and the Thompson twins are some of the highly drafted picks.
Players who have been drafted much lower than them have not been given attention from the media and have been forced to prove themselves as worthy of being in the league. One such player is Bates, who might have just exceeded expectations through his play in the 2023 NBA Summer League.
Although the Summer League isn’t really an indicator of how an athlete will play in the NBA. It is still a platform for fairly elite and near NBA-level competition. With that being said, let us take a closer look at how Bates has performed so far.
Emoni Bates averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds in the 2023 NBA Summer League
To those who do not know much about Emoni Bates is only 19 years old and was not given a chance by several teams in the 2023 NBA Draft. Despite being listed at an impressive 6’9, he was selected as the 49th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Cavs.
The Cavs soon signed him on a two-way contract which meant that he could play with the Cavaliers as well as their G League affiliate. However, after watching his performance in the 4 Summer League games, many fans are confident that Bates will be given a spot on the roster or at least the bench for the Cleveland Cavaliers.In the 4 games played so far, Bates has averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds. He has also averaged 1 steal and 1 block per game, which indicates quite a well-balanced offensive and defensive playstyle. He was given 28.5 minutes per game and certainly had an impact on his team. After all, the Cavs have been undefeated throughout the Summer League so far.
Considering that he is a 6’9 big, it is also very impressive that he averaged 35.9% from the three-point line and made every single one of his 8 free throw attempts throughout the Summer League. Having a large and athletic player with a good shooting ability is something that all NBA teams will be looking to obtain. We look forward to seeing what type of role and career Emoni Bates will have with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
