It may be just Summer League, but Darryn Peterson looks special

SALT LAKE CITY — Two games into Summer League is way too early to talk about greatness. Games in July are a notoriously terrible way to project a career — Stephen Curry struggled in Summer League. Greg Ostertag owned Tim Duncan head-to-head in July.

But it’s hard to watch Darryn Peterson’s first two games in the Salt Lake City Summer League and not think he can be truly special.

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Monday night, in a game hyped as No. 2 pick Peterson against No. 3 pick Carlos Boozer, it was Peterson who stole the show with 25 points and 12 assists (to just two turnovers). He was explosive, showed off his shooting range, and his decision-making was way beyond his years.
“What is greatness to me? I think it’s just kind of being one-of-one,” Peterson said. “I would say to achieve greatness, definitely something I want to try to achieve. Far away from it now, so early in my career — it’s Summer League — but it’s something I wanted to try to achieve in my career.”

Peterson puts on a show

Jazz fans showed up and were loud — this is a fan base that has needed a team and a player they can rally behind and believe in. It’s been two games, but the fans are all in.

Peterson gave those fans what they wanted from the opening tip Monday. He started 3-of-3 with nine points in the game’s first four minutes, hitting a 3-pointer in there, getting to the line and showing some creative shot-making with a scoop layup.

What was more impressive than his scoring was his playmaking. An aggressive Memphis defense blitzed him with doubles off nearly every pick, but Peterson remained calm in the face of pressure, and either found his space to get off a shot or passed to the open man.

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“He’s able to play at the pace the game calls for,” Jazz Summer League head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “He’s going to be closely guarded and doubled, probably a lot of his career, and for a young guy to be able to play at the pace the game calls for, is a very unique skill.

“And he’s got a great ability to stay neutral, whether a guy is pressuring him full court, whether he’s being trapped, whether it’s the first possession of the first quarter,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/may-just-summer-league-darryn-075640550.html

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Publish date : 2026-07-07 07:56:00

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