LAS VEGAS -- The Summer League debut of Hawks guard Kobe Bufkin was one to forget.
Five early fouls, eight turnovers, 4-of-14 from the field, including 0-of-8 from the perimeter.
The 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft vowed to come back with a vengeance in the team’s next game, so he did a little soul searching. Bufkin reminded himself of what got him to the NBA, called the team to get film on his debut performance and then watched the next opponent to get himself familiar with what to expect.
It paid off for him Sunday’s game two as he scored 17 points (including four three-pointers) in a 98-93 win over the Nuggets. It’s only the Summer League, and the Hawks have three games remaining in the desert.
But it’s the attention to detail that’s already evident in Bufkin’s approach, and it’s the drive for self-improvement that attracted the Hawks - among many other things. After the draft, Hawks general manager Landry Fields talked about Bufkin’s love for watching film to break down how he can improve.
In Game 1, Bufkin picked up five fouls in the first half and ended the night with eight turnovers.
In Game 2, Bufkin ended the night with just four turnovers in 27 minutes.
In Game 1, when asked to run the team’s offense, he needed an acclimation period to get used to the speed of the game.
In Game 2, Bufkin played aggressively and confidently called out plays and directed his teammates as needed.
“It was just slow down but speed up at the same time,” Bufkin said. “It’s a weird dynamic, but it was just trying to flow of the of the game. I feel like we were able to do a little bit of that tonight. I wouldn’t be able to get better over time.”
During one sequence against the Nuggets, Bufkin called for a screen from center Mfiondo Kabengele. He dribbled right toward the elbow before pulling up and hit a fadeaway jumper as his defender contested.
“He’s confident,’ Hawks Summer League coach Antonio Lang said. “I don’t know where he played when he was younger, but I think he’s been playing big time basketball. He never got rattled. He stayed aggressive. You just don’t see that on a lot of young men his age. Like I say it’s nothing that we did that. He had it when we got him. He is a testament like I said his parents, the program that he came from and we had to continue to teach him and not mess him up.”
The Hawks (1-1) have the next two days off before playing Wednesday and Thursday. The two teams with the best record will play in the Summer League title July 17. The league will decide the schedule for the remaining 28 teams, divvying up games between July 15 and 16.
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