Jaden Akins has perfect bounce-back game in Summer League loss to Warriors

The last time that Jaden Akins took the floor in a Summer League game before Thursday night, he scored two points and went 0-for-5 from the field.

Akins didn’t play in the following game but then got some playing time on Thursday night as the Knicks took on Yaxel Landeborg and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors ended up winning, but not before Akins put on a show in what has to be considered the perfect bounce-back performance.

The second-year pro came off the bench and played 24 minutes, having the game everyone knew he was capable of when he signed with the Knicks a few weeks ago.

Akins finished with 21 points and two rebounds on 9-of-20 shooting and 3-for-8 from deep but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the Warriors. He was second on the team with a +5 in the +/- category and he was the game’s top scorer.

Following the rough start to his Knicks career, Akins bounced back in the perfect way. The organization probably wanted to see how he’d respond to that first performance after a game off, and all he did was put on a show. He was hitting threes, driving the lane, and creating his own shots en route to a game-high 21 points. No many guys will show enough confidence to get 20 shots up the same after an 0-fer from the floor. Akins made a statement.

These are the types of plays that Akins can absolutely make with regularity given how smart and how good of an athlete he is, but he just always struggled with his consistency. Some games he’s aggressive and is hunting his shots and others he shies away from the spotlight. He’s going to need to be much more of the latter if he wants to impress the Knicks into a two-way contract.

Jaden Akins will get another shot somewhere

Even if Akins doesn’t sign a deal with the Knicks to play for their G-League affiliate, I do believe that he’s going to land on his feet with another team.

Akins was a G-League All-Star with the Pistons’ G-League affiliate and you don’t just show that you’re one of the best players in the league and then get completely forgotten about just because of one Summer League performance. Whether it’s with the Knicks or back with the Motor City Cruise or somewhere else, Akins is going to get another shot. What we saw from him during his rookie season in the G-League was enough proof that he belongs and deserves a two-way contract.

The former Michigan State star was a key player every season of his four-year Spartan career and he ended on a high note as one of the more improved players on the roster. He nearly led Michigan State to a Final Four during his senior year, but a loaded — and veteran — Auburn team stood in the way.

Akins improved in every major metric throughout his Michigan State career and he got even better during his rookie year. He’s going to be a coveted name once it comes time for teams to sign G-League players. I see him playing in some NBA games in the near future.

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