The Phoenix Suns have had no shortage of fireworks in Summer League. Koa Peat has been bringing the noise after dunks, Khaman Maluach has been barking after blocks, and the whole thing has felt like a reflection of the energy around the organization this summer. Rasheer Fleming has been the opposite kind of presence.
He hasn’t tried to steal the spotlight. He hasn’t played like someone chasing highlights.
He’s just been steady, and that steadiness has turned into one of the most encouraging developments in Las Vegas. Fleming’s game is quiet in the way that good role-player basketball often is, but the impact has been hard to miss once you start watching what he’s doing on the defensive end.
The box score has held up, too. Through Summer League, Fleming is averaging 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc.
For a second-year, second-round pick in his second Summer League, that’s solid production by any measure. But the bigger story is how naturally his game fits what the Suns will likely ask of him.
He’s not being used like Koa Peat, who can dominate the ball as a scorer or facilitator. He’s not being fed the way Khaman Maluach is as a rim runner.
Fleming is working inside the offense, and that’s exactly why this stretch matters. He’s screening, relocating, crashing the glass, and taking the open three when it’s there.
For a player projected as a three-and-D forward, that’s the kind of Summer League usage that actually translates.
His final game of Summer League was his best one statistically. Fleming finished with 22 points and eight rebounds while hitting 4-of-6 from deep.
Some people will look at that outing and wonder why he didn’t look like that every night. That misses the point.
The scoring was nice, but the real value was in seeing whether the shot looked clean and, more importantly, whether the defense had taken a step.
It has.
That’s the part that stands out most when you compare this summer to last year. Fleming looked much less comfortable then, when he was all arms and legs, late on closeouts, losing his man, and getting caught under screens.
He missed the first two games and averaged only 16.8 minutes. This time around, he’s been on the floor for 26.7 minutes per game, and the difference has shown up in the details.
His feet are sharper. His rotations are cleaner.
His arms are active in passing lanes and around the rim. There’s more control to everything he’s doing.
The Detroit game was the clearest example. Ebuka Okorie, the 17th overall pick, had been having a strong Summer League for the Pistons.
He’s a twitchy guard who can get by defenders off the dribble. Not this time.
The Suns put Fleming on him and asked him to make things difficult, and that’s exactly what happened. Okorie still scored 16 points, but he needed 17 shots to get there.
Fleming was disruptive at the point of attack and made Detroit work for every inch.
That kind of defensive versatility is what makes the long-term picture interesting. If Fleming is spending time at small forward, the idea of him guarding one through five becomes a real weapon.
He can step up on the perimeter one possession and bang inside against a power forward the next. For Jordan Ott, that opens up a lot of lineup options.
So no, Fleming hasn’t been loud. He hasn’t been the player screaming after every big moment.
But his Summer League hasn’t been underwhelming either. It’s been a real step forward, especially for a sophomore who looks ready for the role waiting for him.
The next test is the regular season. If Fleming is going to get the consistent rotational minutes he seems headed for, this was the kind of summer that matters. The three-and-D job he’s likely to fill lines up almost perfectly with what he showed in Las Vegas.
Sometimes progress doesn’t announce itself with a roar. Sometimes it looks like a player who already knows exactly what he’s supposed to be.
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