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Former Texas basketball star Max Abmas makes his NBA case during Summer League play

Guard Max Abmas brings the ball upcourt for Texas in an NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee in March. Abmas, who went undrafted by the NBA last month, impressed during the NBA Summer League last week in Las Vegas.
Guard Max Abmas brings the ball upcourt for Texas in an NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee in March. Abmas, who went undrafted by the NBA last month, impressed during the NBA Summer League last week in Las Vegas.

Former Texas guard Max Abmas might lack size, and he might lack the clout that comes with being selected in last month’s NBA draft. But one of the premier shooters in college basketball history certainly has NBA range, as he showed during the recently completed NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Abmas, a 6-foot guard, scored 42 points in his final two games for the Utah Jazz. In the process, he made the case that his shooting ability can help carve out a role on an NBA roster.

After not being selected in June’s draft, Abmas signed a Summer League contract with Utah on June 27. He did not play in the first of five Summer League games and had just a total of seven points and four assists in 34 minutes over the next two games.

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But he earned more playing time over the final two games and responded with a pair of impressive performances. In a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Abmas tallied 19 points and two assists in 25 minutes while making two of his five 3-point attempts and nine of his 12 free throws. He followed that up by scoring 23 points in a win over Detroit, when he played 35½ minutes and made seven of his nine shots from the field, including four of his six 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds and five assists.

In his four total games in the Summer League, Abmas made seven of his 17 3-point shots.

Abmas spent his first four seasons at Oral Roberts before transferring to Texas for the 2023-24 season. Last season he averaged 16.8 points and a career-high 4.1 assists while helping the Longhorns reach the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. He ended his collegiate career with 3,132 points, eighth on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list.

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Dylan Disu, Timmy Allen quiet in Summer League

The other two former UT players competing in the NBA Summer League didn’t have as much success.

Dylan Disu, a 6-9 forward from Pflugerville who ended his five-year collegiate career last season, averaged just 3.7 points in 8½ minutes for the Toronto Raptors after signing a Summer League free-agent contract. He did not play in two of the five games because of the coach’s decisions.

Forward Timmy Allen, who ended his UT career in 2023, played in all five games for the Memphis Grizzlies but had just nine total points in 7½ minutes a game.

Point guard Jamal Shead, an Austin native and Manor graduate who starred at Houston, impressed during the event. The 45th overall pick by Toronto started all five games and capped the summer with 18 points and six assists in 28 minutes against San Antonio on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former Texas basketball star Max Abmas makes NBA case during Summer League