Jaylen Hands made it onto an NBA highlight reel – just not the way he might have envisioned it.
The former Bruin guard took a tumble to the floor in the second quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ opening NBA Summer League playoff game Saturday after Detroit Pistons guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk stopped on a dime, broke Hands’ ankles and drained a 3-point shot from the wing.
The Nets went on to win the game, advancing to the semifinals of the NBA Summer League tournament. In Hands’ first four summer league games, he averaged 11 minutes and 5.5 points per game while shooting 30.8% from the field and 11.1% from long range.
After he sat out the game against the Croatian national team July 7, Hands came off the bench for 12 minutes against the Washington Wizards the next day, scoring four points on 0-of-4 shooting from deep.
In Brooklyn’s next game against the Orlando Magic, Hands also played just 12 minutes, though his six points led the Nets’ bench. Three of his points came from beyond the arc, good for Hands’ first NBA 3-pointer of the summer league after missing on seven attempts in his previous two games.
Brooklyn was seeded No. 7 out of eight qualifying teams in the Summer League tournament following its three wins against Croatia, Washington and Orlando.
In the Nets’ quarterfinal matchup against Detroit, Hands played a total of five minutes, in which he went 2-of-4 from the field and added an assist.
With their 105-85 win over the Pistons on Saturday, the Nets advanced to play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the semifinals Sunday night.
Against Minnesota, Hands tallied eight minutes and four points, going 1-of-6 from the floor and missing both 3-pointers attempted in the game. The Nets were defeated by the Timberwolves 85-77, ending the Nets’ Summer League season.
Houston Rockets center Moses Brown – the Bruins’ former starting center – made his professional debut July 6 against the Dallas Mavericks, but he spent just two minutes on the floor. In Houston’s final four games, Brown did not take the court despite being in uniform.
The Rockets did not make the Summer League bracket, so Brown’s run with the Summer League team came to an end Saturday.
Former Bruin wing Kris Wilkes was kept off the New York Knicks Summer League roster due to an illness. New York tallied a 2-3 record in Summer League play, but failed to advance to the playoff bracket.
The funnel to an NBA contract now becomes extremely narrow.