Trail Blazers win Summer League Title with 85-77 win over Knicks

Portland Trail Blazers’ Trendon Watford, left, and Brandon Williams celebrate after defeating the New York Knicks in an NBA summer league championship basketball game Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

For the second time in four years, the Portland Trail Blazers are NBA Summer League Champions.

The Blazers beat the Knicks in the championship game Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, 85-77, to win their second summer league title, and first since 2017. It was the third title game appearance since 2017 for the Blazers, and they finished the job for another title, which this year, came with championship rings.

Portland’s defense helped stretch their lead to as many as sixteen points in the third quarter, 60-44. Brandon Williams led the way in scoring with 22 points, but it was big man Trendon Watford who took championship game MVP honors with 19 points and 7 rebounds.

Portland also got strong bench production to the tune of 36 bench points, 14 of which came from second-round pick Jabari Walker, who added 11 rebounds and was a major bright spot to the summer league run.

With the objective complete, a major question still exists regarding the team’s No. 7 overall pick in Shaedon Sharpe. Sharpe was supposed to be the primary focus entering Summer League, but the 19-year-old suffered a minor tear in his left shoulder just over five minutes into the summer league opener, and missed the remainder of the schedule. Fans will have to wait until preseason to see what Sharpe can bring to the table.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Trendon Watford on 2022 Las Vegas Summer League title: “In my head, I was already dreaming about that [champagne]. It’s going to be another one of these [rings], though. It’s going to be another one of these in Portland, soon.” pic.twitter.com/H4bdk0QALx

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 17, 2022

THE TRAIL BLAZERS ARE YOUR #NBA2K23SummerLeague CHAMPIONS!!!🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/wqeqyNkyYM

— NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) July 17, 2022

The Trail Blazers win the NBA2K23 Summer League Championship, defeating the Knicks 85-77.

Trendon Watford, who went undrafted in 2021, takes the MVP award with a summer league career-high 19 Pts. pic.twitter.com/BGgN2cNgpW

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 17, 2022

The Blazers will open training camp in September, with the preseason opener scheduled for October 3rd against the Los Angeles Clippers in an exhibition game to be played in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.