Kansas Basketball: Svi Mykhailiuk shining in NBA summer league

Svi Mykhailiuk, formerly of Kansas basketball, is showing out for the Los Angeles Lakers in summer league action. He could potentially be the steal of the draft.

Every season, there is a player (or players) with unbelievable hype surrounding their game. Due to this, these players end up being high lottery picks with an abundance of expectations surrounding them. Let’s call this player: Player A.

Once the lottery picks conclude in the NBA draft (selections 1-14), the rest of the draft choices tend to be selected due to potential until the very end of the NBA Draft (60 total picks).

It never fails that a certain player is slept on by a majority of NBA scouts. This player let’s the doubters become motivation, which eventually creates a successful NBA career. Let’s call this player: Player B.

Player A enters the NBA Draft with hype surrounding him – “Is he the next Michael Jordan?” “Will he average a double-double during his rookie season?” “Is he a franchise cornerstone?”

Meanwhile, Player B enters the NBA Draft with below-par comparisons, and mediocre hype. Their scouting report usually consists of something along the lines of: “Possible upside, but highly unlikey to succeed in the NBA.” However, Player B works hard to prove the doubters wrong, and quite frequently, they succeed in doing so.

Player A lets the hype get to his mind, and overpower his drive. Eventually Player A becomes considered a “bust” by the national media.

Isn’t it kind of weird that Player B already sounds so little familiar this season? Yeah, Player B might end up being sharpshooter and former Kansas basketball star Svi Mykhailiuk.

Drafted number 47 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Mykhailiuk is paving his NBA career right from the get-go. The L.A. Lakers were the second worst NBA team in terms of three-point percentage. Adding Mykhailiuk in the draft may be exactly what the Lakers need to gain momentum in their rebuilding status.

More from Kansas Jayhawks

• LOOK: First Renditions of David Booth Memorial Stadium and the KU Gateway District
• NBA Draft Prospects to Watch From Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas State
• Where Betting Markets Say Gradey Dick Will Land in the NBA Draft
• Kansas’ Christian Braun Wins Fifth Title in Seven Years, Joins Elite Company with NBA Championship
• The No.8 Jayhawks Get Hooked by the No. 20 Longhorns

Sure, adding The King in Lebron James is more than enough to consider the Lakers a competitive team. However, adding a young shooter such as Mykhailiuk was a necessity.

Calling Mykhailiuk only a shooter is somewhat of a disgrace. During his NBA summer league performances, he has shown flashes of being a dominant ball-handler, slasher, and not to mention his quiet hops he has – he CAN jump.

While with the Lakers summer league squad, Mykhailiuk is averaging 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he ended the game with 31 points with six triples along the way.

Mykhailiuk was considered to be too small, too slow, and too inconsistent to keep up with the modern NBA. However, if these numbers stay constant from here on out, Mykhailiuk may be a top-notch shooting guard in the NBA.

Some call it luck, others call it “Poetry in Motion”. Mykhailiuk has his doubters, but his performances just seem already so convincing.

This may be the most bold article I have ever written, but I watched Mykhailiuk improve each season with Kansas basketball. So, this sudden success isn’t much of a surprise to me.

So back to me considering this a bold article to write. Well, honestly, I do not think it is bold enough, so I am going to step it up a notch: Svi Mykhailiuk is a “Poor-Man’s Klay Thompson.” Please, just wait for it.