Even though the Los Angeles Lakers failed to get a win at the inaugural California Classic, there were undoubtedly some bright spots. Josh Hart played well and Moe Wagner showed a lot of different skills, but perhaps most surprising was the play of second-round pick, Svi Mykhailiuk.
When drafted, Mykhailiuk was viewed as an excellent three-point shooter, but most believed he wouldn’t bring much else to the table. However, to the surprise of many, Mykhailiuk showed that he is more than capable of attacking the defense off the dribble as well, in addition to his great shooting.
One person who wasn’t surprised by this is Summer League head coach Miles Simon, who used to broadcast Mykhailiuk’s games during college and knew that he brought more to the table than just shooting as he spoke about following the team’s California Classic finale, according to Lakers.com:
“I was calling Svi’s games for three years in the Big 12 so I’ve known that he can put it on the floor — he’s not just a shooter. He has great feet, he can attack closeouts, he has a good handle, he’s a good finisher at the rim, he has a good layup package, he’s more athletic than people would think. He just has a reputation because he’s such a good three-point shooter, but you close out hard to him, he has other facets to his game that people don’t really know about.”
Mykhailiuk didn’t necessarily put up the most amazing numbers in these three games, but it was the skillset that he showed which is so promising to the Lakers. It is important for players who shoot as well as him to be able to attack the basket when opponents close out too hard and he can do that and finish at the rim as well.
Additionally, Mykhailiuk has also shown himself to be a decent team defender, doing a good job with helpside recognition and positioning. It’s obviously still very early on to make any big judgments, but it looks as if the Lakers may have found themselves another gem in the second round.
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