Jessup's Summer League sojourn done - does the NBA await?

Illawarra Hawks star Justinian Jessup has rounded out an encouraging stint with the Golden State Warriors at the NBA's final Summer League event in Las Vegas today with arguably his best performance of the pre-season tournament.

Jessup put up 18-points (a personal Summer League high), three rebounds and a block in 32 minutes of playing time, with the Hawks sharpshooter played a starring role in his squad's 84-76 loss to the LA Lakers in their Summer League finale.

And with the Warriors deciding to sit the number seven pick in the 2021 NBA draft - Jonathan Kuminga - it was left to Jessup to pick up the slack. The 23-year-old hitting a triple of three-balls early on to shoot the Warriors out to a 21-6 first quarter lead - with Jessup leading all scoreres with 13-points at QT.

The Lakers eventually overran the San Francisco-based squad, but it was an encouraging final foray for Jessup - with front offices now turning their attention to finalising their rosters for the upcoming NBA season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Illawarra Hawks guard Justinian Jessup finished off Summer League with the <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a> in style today with an 18-point explosion against the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lakers</a>.<br><br>Watch him go to work here ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/PRS4uQfdvn">pic.twitter.com/PRS4uQfdvn</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1427883938605780998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It ends what has been an eventful couple of weeks for the Boise State product, with Jessup posting averages of 12.4ppg on 42% shooting from the field and 43% from deep in Vegas. He also chipped in 3.2rpg and 1.4apg in 27 minutes of action across five games. His three-point percentage ranking him 14th across the league for players who took more than five three's per game.

Two days ago Jessup ran into another former NBL star in Didi Louzada when the Warriors took on the New Orleans Pelicans in an overtime thriller. Jessup having 16-points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal as the Pels ran out 80-79 victors.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justinian was thriving for the <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a> at Summer League today with the Hawks guard notching 16pts, 4reb and a steal in the squads OT loss to the Pels.<br><br>All the best bits here ??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/YWCiV9ej13">pic.twitter.com/YWCiV9ej13</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1427173932952522755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


On August 14 he faced off against a Josh Giddey-less Oklahoma City Thunder and registered eight points, a block and a steal in a 10-point 94-84 victory.

The Warriors inflicted the Toronto Raptors only loss of Summer League on August 12 as Jessup put up 13-points, three rebounds and two steals. The Warriors winning 90-84.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hawks guard Justinian Jessup had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a> 91-89 OT loss to the <a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrlandoMagic</a> at the Las Vegas Summer League today.<br><br>Check out his best bits here ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyasOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyasOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/rhno7nCVvg">pic.twitter.com/rhno7nCVvg</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1425006116803538944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And on August 10, Jessup got off to a sluggish start against the Orlando Magic and former NZ Breaker RJ Hampton, totalling only seven points, five rebounds and three assists. Golden State finished the five-game swing in the middle of the 30-team pack with a 2-3 record, but two of those losses came in overtime.

Jessup was drafted by the Dubs with pick 52 in the 2020 draft, but spent the first half of the 2021 calendar year playing for the Hawks in the NBL.

Jessup told basketball website ClutchPoints during the week his stint with the Hawks had perfectly prepared him for the rigors of the NBA environment. 

“It was a really physical league [the NBL]. Just the way it’s officiated they let a lot of stuff go and I think that’s going to be beneficial moving forward, even in Summer League. Playing in the NBL helped me with that. They play more physically, so that’s probably the most significant thing, basketball-wise,” Jessup said.

From here, training camp begins for all NBA rosters on September 28 ahead of an October 19 season start. Jessup will stay in America in the hope of securing a spot at camp, where he will be competing with several other young stars for a spot on the Golden State bench. Competition at the Dubs is immense with the likes of Nico Mannion, Moses Moody, Damion Lee and Gary Payton III already fighting for minutes behind arguably the best back court in the league in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.