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After a strong all-around showing in his 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League debut for the Milwaukee Bucks, second-year guard Gary Payton II didn’t see too much court-time and had mostly a minimal impact in the team’s 88-83 win against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon. Instead, the team favored heavy minutes from leading scorer Rashad Vaughn (31 points) and Travis Trice II (12 points) in the back-court during the five-point victory. The Bucks are now 1-1 in league play.
While no direct reason was given for Payton II’s lack of playing time, it is commonplace for players both currently under contract in the NBA like Payton II is and those fighting for roster spots, to split time between long and short outings in games. Below, you can see his highlights from his first showing in the 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League, where he tallied an impressive five steals.
The best from GP II as he hustled for 10 points, 4 boards, 3 dimes and 5 steals in the #NBASummer opener!! pic.twitter.com/eR8Q4mEFBz
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 8, 2017
Both Payton II and fellow Oregon State alum Jared Cunningham will be in action on Monday, July 10th in nationally televised games. First, Cunningham takes the floor when the Washington Wizards square off with the Miami Heat (1:30 PM PT, NBA TV) in the early afternoon, before Payton II takes center-stage against the Los Angeles Clippers (7:00 PM PT, ESPN2) in the prime-time slot. It is expected that Payton II may take on a more featured role in that game after playing sparingly on Sunday.