After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, former Kentucky wing Justin Edwards has continued his inconsistent trend in Summer League play — unfortunately. But, his second performance turned some heads.
It was a tough opening game in his NBA Summer League debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. Edwards went scoreless in 18 minutes on 0-of-2 from the field. He was a game-high +11 in his minutes, however.
On Tuesday he bounced back in a nice way, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-3 on 3s. He added three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 25 minutes.
The 6-foot-8 wing struggled with his consistency and production at Kentucky which saw him fall off draft boards over the last year.
After scoring in double-figures in seven of his first 11 games, he failed to reach 10 points in the next nine games and only scored in double-digits two of his next 14 games.
He averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and shot 48.6 percent from the floor in 30 starts (32 games) last year. He also shot 36.5 percent from three, making 31 3s on the season.
The one-time top-3 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, Edwards’ fall from one of the top players in the country was difficult to watch.
Coming in with one of the best recruiting classes that Kentucky had under John Calipari, Edwards was sometimes the forgotten freshman despite being one of the most highly-rated of the group.
When Edwards went undrafted, John Calipari took to social media to give his take on the former Cat.
“I was disappointed he wasn’t drafted because his upside is ridiculous,” Calipari wrote on social media. “Philly is a great landing spot for him. Coach Nurse really likes him. Tyrese and I talked. He’s going to take him under his wing. Don’t be surprised as he busts through.”
The 76ers still have a long way to go in Summer League action, so here’s to hoping Edwards shows more of what he did on Tuesday throughout the rest of the summer.
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Publish date : 2024-07-10 07:50:01
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