NBA's 2nd overall pick injured in Summer League game, MRI slated for Monday

By Ross Kelly July 8, 2018 at 8:57am

Marvin Bagley III’s first game in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League started with him going head-to-head with No. 1 overall pick, and former high school teammate, Deandre Ayton.

But the game ended with Bagley being checked out by Sacramento’s medical staff as he hurt his groin and hip in the game, injuries which will result in an MRI scheduled for Monday.

Bagley appeared to suffer the injuries late in the fourth quarter of the Kings’ 71-63 loss to the Suns. He fouled Ayton on an and-1 layup and then motioned to the Kings bench to take him out of the game.

Top picks Deandre Ayton (21p/12r) and Marvin Bagley III (15p/7r) match up at the @NBASummerLeague! pic.twitter.com/fXnegL5mAJ

— NBA (@NBA) July 8, 2018

The medical staff examined Bagley on the sideline and he did some stretching on the floor before being helped to his feet.

The injuries didn’t appear to be too serious as he checked back into the game seconds later.

Coaches don’t take any chances with meaningless games like the Summer League, however, so the fact that he re-entered a 12 point game with less than three minutes remaining indicates that he’ll likely be OK.

He has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Clippers and is considered doubtful for Tuesday’s game against the Grizzlies. The Kings have Monday off.

The No. 2 overall pick was pretty healthy in his one year at Duke as he played in 33 of 37 games. The only action he missed was late in the regular season as he sat four games with a knee sprain.

Should the Kings sit Bagley for the rest of the summer league as a precaution?

Bagley finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds, compared to Ayton’s 21 points and 12 rebounds.

It was a pretty rough night for Bagley, who not only dealt with the injury and losing the head-to-head battle with Ayton, but he also lost to his hometown team as he is a Phoenix native.

To add more insult to injury, Bagley was on the wrong end of the play of the game. After grabbing a rebound he attempted to go coast-to-coast by was emphatically denied by Suns second-year player Josh Jackson.

.@j_josh11 welcomed Marvin Bagley to the league… 😳#NBASummer pic.twitter.com/2sYStMh9sl

— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 8, 2018

Through four Summer League games, Bagley is averaging 10.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG. His defense was a question mark coming into the NBA but Bagley has averaged 1.8 blocks per game after averaging fewer than one block per game in college.

The Kings’ best “rookie” has been Harry Giles, who is a rookie in the same sense of Ben Simmons. Giles was drafted last year but missed his entire rookie season to rehab a knee injury.

Giles is averaging 11.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG while working as the second option behind Bagley. He should get even more opportunities to impress while Bagley is sidelined.

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