University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Anderson Named Summer League MVP
Former UCLA standout Kyle Anderson of the San Antonio Spurs has been named Most Valuable Player of the Samsung NBA Summer League 2015, as announced Sunday by the NBA.
Joining Anderson as one of five first-team All-NBA Summer League selections was recent UCLA graduate Norman Powell, a second-round 2015 NBA draft selection playing for the Toronto Raptors.
In addition, former UCLA point guard Larry Drew II was named a second-team All-NBA Summer League selection, playing for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Anderson, Powell and Drew II all starred together on the Bruins’ 2012-13 squad. Anderson, a 6-foot-9 forward, has played in six games in Las Vegas, helping the Spurs advance to the Samsung NBA Summer League’s Championship game with a 5-1 record at the event. To date, he has averaged 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. His best performance in Las Vegas included 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks against the Brooklyn Nets on July 16.
Anderson and the seventh-seeded Spurs will compete Monday evening in the championship game against the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns. The title contest will air live on NBA TV at 6 p.m. (PT).
A first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a sophomore at UCLA in 2013-14, Anderson was the No. 30 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft by San Antonio. He was one of three first-round draft selections from UCLA that year. In two seasons at UCLA, Anderson averaged 12.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 71 contests (70 starts).
Powell graduated with his degree in history from UCLA in June after having played in all 141 games for the Bruins from 2011-12 through 2014-15. In summer league action this month, Powell averaged a team-leading 18.2 points in four games for Toronto, in addition to securing 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting 50.9 percent from the field.
A first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a senior in 2014-15, Powell led the Bruins and ranked sixth in the conference in scoring (16.4 ppg). Last month, he was the No. 46 overall selection by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Draft before being immediately acquired by the Toronto Raptors.
Drew II played at UCLA during his senior season, helping lead the Bruins to the Pac-12 regular-season title in 2012-13. In five summer league games this month, Drew II averaged 10.0 points, 7.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
A first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2012-13 at UCLA, Drew II finished his senior campaign having averaged 7.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, starting all 35 contests. That year, he established UCLA’s single-season assists record (256), a mark that ranks third on the Pac-12’s single-season list. He led the conference in assists, assists per game (7.3) and assist turnover ratio (2.98) that year.
In all, UCLA had nine former players competing in the NBA Summer League. In addition to Anderson, Powell and Drew II were Jordan Adams, Lazeric Jones, Zach LaVine, Kevon Looney, David Wear and Travis Wear.