summer league

LAS VEGAS — Yanic Konan Niederhauser received the pass near the half-court line from a Clippers teammate who had just stolen the basketball. The 6-foot-11 center maneuvered down the court, his long strides allowing him to use just two dribbles before he took flight outside the circle and threw down a thunderous dunk over helpless Lakers defender Cole Swider.

The crowd inside Thomas & Mack Center went into a frenzy, including Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who leaped out of his courtside seat, pumped his fists and yelled.

At that moment Monday night, Niederhauser displayed his agility, speed and ballhandling skills. It was another step taken in his progress while playing in the NBA Summer League on the campus of UNLV.

The Clippers had used the 30th and last pick in the first round of the NBA draft to select Niederhauser out of Penn State because they saw potential.

That exciting, and in many ways unexpected, play was an encouraging sign for the Clippers.

“I didn’t see Mr. Ballmer because I was in the moment,” Niederhauser, laughing, said late Monday night. “That’s the guard skills I was talking about and I had a couple of fast breaks these last few days and I passed the ball away. Now I said, ‘Naw, man. I can go up by myself.’ I told myself I was going to dunk it and I did.”

In his first three games in the NBA Summer League, Niederhauser has shown different skills.

It was his defense and rebounding in the first game, against the Houston Rockets in which he blocked four shots and collected 10 rebounds. Though he missed all four of his shots and scored just one point, Niederhauser found other ways to contribute.

It was a little bit of everything in his second game, against the Milwaukee Bucks in which he had two points, three rebounds, two steals and one block.

It was his offense in the third game against the Lakers in which he scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and had two steals.

“He just sticks with it,” Clippers assistant and Summer League coach Jeremy Castleberry said. “No matter if it’s going good or bad, he sticks with it. He’s trying his best to do everything we ask him to do. And just like I said after the last game, he continues to get better. From the last game [against the Bucks] to this game [against the Lakers], he was a little bit better than he was last game. He’s getting the dunks, catching the basketball, finishing it, being a rim-protector, consistently running the floor. Like, you can see the progress.”

Niederhauser was born in Bern, Switzerland, a town of about 135,000 an hour from Zurich. Even so, at 15, the Clippers’ international scouts became aware of Niederhauser when he played on the under-16 Switzerland national team. At that time, he was a 6-1 guard.

Niederhauser had a growth spurt at 17 that pushed him into playing center position. He said he was 6-5 when he broke his knee and was forced to sit out for a year.

Clippers center Yanic Konan Niederhauser elevates for a shot over Lakers center Christian Koloko during a Summer League game in Las Vegas.

(Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)

“I was like out for a whole year and once I came back, after a whole year of sitting out and I get back on the court, now I’m 6-11,” he said. “Yeah, in one year, I had to change my whole game from being like a forward/guard to being a center. So, yeah, I had guard skills. That’s why sometimes I be dribbling the ball.”

Niederhauser laughed, agreeing those guard skills helped him make that electric dunk against the Lakers.

His size, weight (242 pounds) and youth (22) are all part of the package the Clippers like.

“We think there’s plenty of upside,” Clippers general manager Trent Redden said. “You know, the famous draft word, obviously. But for a guy that’s his age, he’s still learning and growing into his frame that he hasn’t really had his whole life. We just haven’t had a guy that size at that position in a backup role that’s young that we can feed into and give to our developmental staff.”

As a kid growing up in Switzerland, Niederhauser learned to speak four languages — Swiss, German, French and English.

His parents, Dominique and Nadege Niederhauser, made sure their son was well-versed.

“Since I was a baby, I was speaking all those languages,” Niederhauser said. “My mom, she speaks French. She’s from the Ivory Coast and that’s where I learned French, and my dad speaks mostly German and so that’s how I learned my German.”

Now that Niederhauser is with the Clippers, he’ll have tutors to teach how the NBA game is played.

He will be able to learn from centers Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez.

Lopez is 37 and a 17-year veteran who signed with the Clippers this summer.

He mentioned how he played with great players like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now it’s up to him to pass on knowledge to Niederhauser like others passed on to him.

“I’m absolutely ready to get on the court, help him out and help him adjust and become a great player in this league,” Lopez said.

Niederhauser is soaking it all in while in Las Vegas, from the games to the practices to the conversations he’s had with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.

“He’s been giving me advice. I can just tell that he has a lot of knowledge,” Niederhauser said. “I’m loving this. I’m in a great situation with experienced players to learn from. I’m just taking time to learn and get my experience. Everything is new to me so I’m just trying my best to soak everything in and just get better every day.”

LAS VEGAS — Even with all the sports dignitaries in attendance and even though they were watching a rivalry game of sorts between the Lakers and Clippers, the fans inside the Thomas & Mack Center still were mostly enamored with Bronny James.

That is the kind of drawing power James had even with his dad, LeBron James, watching again from his baseline seats. That’s the kind of draw James had even with Steve Ballmer, Tyronn Lue, JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka in attendance.

Even with Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Kawhi Leonard looking on, Bronny James was the center of attention yet again.

James had one of his better NBA Summer League games, but it was the Clippers who came out on top in a 67-58 win Monday night at Nevada Las Vegas.

James had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes and 17 seconds.

He was six for 10 from the field and three for five from three-point range.

And, yes, he was happy to have the support of his family and teammates.

“It definitely gave me a little boost, seeing them cheer for me and my teammates,” James said. “It’s great to get in the gym with them.”

The star of the night was Clippers forward Jordan Miller, his 19 points and seven rebounds a big reason why the Clippers are 3-0 in the summer league.

His three-pointer late in the fourth quarter gave the Clippers a lead they never lost. He scored nine of the Clippers’ last 11 points.

“We got it done,” said Clippers assistant coach Jeremy Castleberry, who is the team’s summer league coach. “We got it done. We did what we needed to do, the second night of a back-to-back. For a lot of those guys, it was the first back-to-back they played in a long time. So, happy we got it done.”

James started strong, shooting a three-pointer to open the scoring. He added a step-back three in the second quarter, those two shots being part of his 12 first-half points on four-for-four shooting.

He made a three-pointer in the fourth quarter that tied the score 51-51.

“Yeah, I can see growth, for sure,” James said. “Honestly, I just feel like my confidence is growing over the last year and a half or so. So, I’m just going to grow on that and keep my mind right.”

The Lakers shot 34.4% just from the field, 30% from three-point range and 38.5% from the free-throw line (five for 13). They also turned the ball over 19 times.

Lakers assistant coach Lindsey Harding said the team showed signs of “fatigue,” which she expected considering it was their sixth summer game (they played three games at the California Classic in San Francisco).

“It just seemed like we didn’t have much pop,” said Harding, the Lakers’ summer league coach.

But not James. He seemed energized the entire game.

“Bronny came ready. He came ready. He had the spark,” Harding said. “You want these guys, especially him in that position and who he’ll be with us with the Lakers, when you get your minutes, go hard. Play until exhaustion, we’ll take you out and then we’ll put you back in. I thought that he did that today.

“He did a great job, even on the offensive end in finding players, making reads on pick-and-rolls. I think they struggled guarding him and he did a great job on the defensive end.”

But James wasn’t the only one who got the fans excited.

Clippers rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser threw down a nasty dunk on Cole Swider in the third quarter, which brought the crowd to its feet.

Niederhauser had another strong outing for the Clippers with 10 points, two rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes.

LAS VEGAS — The Clippers’ NBA Summer League contest Friday against the Houston Rockets offered a chance for Kobe Brown to show he’s capable of being a rotational player for the Clippers this season.

But misfortune struck in the third quarter when Brown got tangled with a Rockets defender who fell on his right ankle. Brown sat on the Clippers’ bench for a few minutes before he limped to their locker room.

Brown didn’t return in the Clippers’ 95-92 win at Cox Pavilion on Friday night after sustaining what the team described as a right ankle contusion.

Brown is entering his third season with the Clippers and the team is eager for the 2023 30th overall draft pick to make an impact. He’ll make $2.65 million this season and will have a qualifying offer for next season at $4.7 million.

“He’s just got to continue to do what he did tonight,” said Clippers assistant coach Jerry Castleberry, the team’s Summer League coach. “Play great defense. Make the right reads. We’ve been talking about it all training camp. Get in the paint, draw two, make the right reads and if they put a small on him, he showed his ability to be able to score against a mismatch tonight and doing it the right way — quickly, getting downhill, not dancing, just getting straight to the point.

Brown scored 10 points in the first quarter, going four for five from the field, making both of his three-point attempts. On one of those threes, he ran the length of the court and took a pass for a lob dunk.

Brown finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes.

“Ankle is good,” Castleberry said. “Ankle is fine. Just precautionary. He’ll be OK.”

The Clippers waived Jordan Miller before summer league started, but they still had a roster spot so he was added to the team.

He did not disappoint Friday, producing 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Miller has been given an opportunity to show the Clippers — and any other team — how the Summer League is useful for him.

“With this team it takes a lot of humility. Not thinking less of yourself but also thinking less of yourself,” Miller said. “Just finding a way to maximize whatever role it is. It’s not just for me, but it’s for all the guys. We got guys that can score. The only way we’re going to get on the floor is defending and making open threes. That’s just the reality of it. … But for the most part, just working game reps. Like, you’re not going to get a lot of ball-screens. You’re not going to get a lot of touches. So you just got to work on your off-ball shooting, movement shooting and being able to not mess up defensively.”

It was on defense where Clippers rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser was at his best.

Niederhauser blocked four shots and had 10 rebounds. He used his seven-foot frame as a deterrent and displayed why the Clippers drafted him out of Penn State.

“He did everything he was supposed to do,” Castleberry said. “He was great with rim-protection, changing shots and I just thought he was good.”