Pitt Summer League Round Up: Nike Sibande Debuts
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers were well-represented at the 2023 NBA Summer League and most of the former players to attend with different teams saw the floor at some point over the 10 day-long event.
From Pitt's perspective, the final weekend of Summer League action was headlined by Nike Sibande's first NBA action with the Dallas Mavericks during their last games in Las Vegas.
Sibande made his NBA debut in the Mavericks' fourth game, a 112-91 win over the Pacers. He was a -5 in four minutes, made one of two shots for three points and grabbed a defensive rebound. He also appeared in Dallas' consolation game against the Atlanta Hawks, a 21-point win, and was a +3 in six minutes. Sibande didn't make his lone field goal attempt but grabbed two rebounds, came up with a steal, blocked a shot and recorded an assist in limited action.
Au'Diese Toney played two more games for the Orlando Magic after making his own debut late last week, with his playing time increasing with each passing game.
After logging 18:26 against the Knicks, he started and played 25:39 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Toney knocked down just two of six shots from the field but made both of his free throws, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked three shots and came up with two steals. In Orlando's Summer League finale against the Boston Celtics, he played 30:56, scoring four points on 2-6 shooting to go along with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Toney ended Summer League averaging four points per game on 27% shooting from the field along with 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and two blocks over 25 minutes per game.
Meanwhile, Justin Champagnie and Mouhamadou Gueye closed out strong weeks as leading men for the Celtics and Toronto Raptors, respectively.
Following a 14-point outing against the Knicks, Champagnie did not play in Boston's Summer League Finale. He nonetheless finished tied for third on the team in scoring (13 points per game) and first in rebounding (8.3 rebounds per game). Champagnie also made 30.4% of his 3-pointers and 71.4% of his free throws, blocked one shot per game and led the Celtics in minutes at 28.6 per game.
Over five games, Gueye averaged 16.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 block per appearance. He was second on the Raptors in blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, fifth in rebounding and fourth in offensive rebounding.
With Sibande earning some run late in Summer League, four of the five former Pitt players in Las Vegas played for their respective teams. Malik Ellison, who spent one season with the Panthers as a graduate transfer from 2018-19, was on the Raptors' roster in Las Vegas but did not see the floor.
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