The NBA Summer League has taken over the basketball world as the offseason makes its way through July. The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off the Las Vegas portion of the summertime action against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, and even though that encounter ended in defeat, L.A. fans are hopeful that the loss won't be the start of a skid.
Even though they opened the Summer League with a loss, the Lakers' opener wasn't without some bright spots. In fact, one of Los Angeles' newest additions has wasted no time demonstrating his value to the team.
Lakers Wing Cole Swider Is Paying Off in Summer League
Before the NBA Summer League action started, the Lakers brought in various names to fill out their roster, including a familiar face in Cole Swider. The former Syracuse sharpshooter previously spent parts of the 2022 and 2023 campaigns in the Lakers organization, and even made appearances with South Bay in the G League last year before joining the Toronto Raptors on a 10-day contract.
Having said that, the Lakers couldn't have asked for a better Las Vegas debut from Swider. The 6-foot-8 wing stole the show with a game-high 22 points while shooting 6-of-10 (60.0%) from the floor and 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the three-point line, all while adding 10 rebounds and an assist in 30 minutes of work.
It was quite the performance from Swider, who's struggled to find a permanent home to begin his NBA career. The Portsmouth, RI native has only played 35 games with four franchises since debuting with the Lakers in October 2022, averaging just 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and .364/.329/.667 shooting splits.
Even though his career hasn't panned out as he hoped, spending the summer with the Lakers could be exactly what he needs. Successfully capitalizing on his momentum long enough to make Los Angeles' roster would give Swider the chance to play alongside two elite playmakers in LeBron James and Luka Doncic, who could take advantage of his sharpshooting abilities.
The NBA Summer League offers annual opportunities for unlikely names to secure bigger roles for themselves. Hopefully, Swider doesn't take his foot off the gas because he could be the perfect sharpshooting asset for the Lakers' bench as long as his confidence is high.