Clippers Summer League: 5 takeaways from Orlando
Unkown rivalry
Two long-time rivals, Royce O’Neale and TaShawn Thomas, became teammates with the Clippers Summer League team in Orlando.
Thomas and O’Neale were rivals in Killeen, Texas and later in Germany.
"“It’s just crazy,” Thomas said about playing with his rival via the Clippers’ website. “To think about how we went from the Boys and Girls Club, to middle school, to high school, to college, then overseas playing each other in every level of basketball…it is crazy.”"
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Neither of the players got drafted, despite solid college careers. They played on different Summer League squads last season, before joining different teams in Germany.
Thomas averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game for Mitteldeutscher BC last year. Meanwhile, O’Neale averaged 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds between the BBL and Eurocup during the same time period.
As for this installment, ONeale got the best. He started and played in three games averaging 30 minutes-per-game. ONeale registered 6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, two steals and 9.7 points per game. Thomas averaged 3.5 points, 1.5 blocks and two rebounds in nine minutes per game.
Next: Clippers get Mo' Buckets
It is unclear if either will get a shot at the Clippers roster. Atleast we know about this cool and rare rivalry.