The Golden State Warriors lost a close game to the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2009 NBA summer league. Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph were on hand, but they weren’t playing basketball. Instead, they were playing a video game called “NBA Jam.”
The who does steph curry play for is a question that has been asked many times. Stephen Curry’s 2009 Summer League teammate Warriors let slip away was the answer to this question.
The Golden State Warriors had an odd summer league in 2009. It was Stephen Curry’s first season in the NBA, and he was the team’s fourth-leading scorer. During his time in Las Vegas, he averaged 17.4 points per game. Cartier Martin, Anthony Randolph, and Anthony Morrow all averaged more over 20 points per game.
All four players played for the Warriors during the regular season, and the non-Curry players are no longer in the league. The Warriors, on the other hand, would love to have one member from that squad on the club right now: Joe Ingles is a contender for Sixth Man of the Year with the Utah Jazz.
The Australian made his maiden trip to the NBA as an undrafted rookie in 2009, after playing professionally for many years in Australia’s National Basketball League. He was a member of the Warriors’ summer league team. In order to pursue his NBA ambition, he spent two summers with the Warriors.
Ingles played substantial minutes alongside Curry last season but failed to impress the front management. In 25.5 minutes a game, he averaged 3.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting a dismal 20% from the field. Ingles’ expectations and chances diminished the next year. In just 16.7 minutes a game, he averaged 1.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while shooting 20 percent.
After missing out on the Warriors in 2009, the Australian returned to international competition. In his debut season, he averaged 11.0 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent from beyond the arc for CB Granada in the Spanish ACB league. After failing to make the Warriors again in 2010, the left-back moved to CB Granada before joining FC Barcelona, where he stayed until 2013. Maccabi Tel-Aviv was his next destination. On the Israeli team, he won a EuroLeague title with future Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt.
Ingles was noticed by the Los Angeles Clippers, and he joined them for the 2014 preseason. After the Clippers released him, he was signed by the Jazz for the regular season and made his NBA debut in the 2014-15 season. As a rookie, he played in 79 games and started 32 of them.
The Warriors won their first championship under Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green in the 2014-15 season. Imagine if Ingles had made an impression in summer league with the Cavs and ended up as a member of their core. Of course, if he had remained with the Warriors, things might have gone in a very different way, but his skill set would have been perfect next to the stars. What if everything had worked out? There’s a reason the Celtics are still allegedly interested in him in 2024.
Although things did not go as planned, things have turned out nicely for the Warriors and Ingles. Since that summer league, the Dubs have won numerous rings, and Ingles is helped the Jazz become contenders. The veteran, who is now 33 years old, is one of the greatest bench players and shooters in the NBA. Ingles could have won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2024 if it hadn’t been for teammate Jordan Clarkson. Ingles scored a career-high 12.1 points per possession while shooting 48.9% from the field and 45.1 percent from three-point range.
Even though the Warriors let a good one slip away, it ended up being a pleasant finish for all sides.
