Philadelphia 76ers 1995 #3 pick Jerry Stackhouse had a much different start to his NBA career than most rookies, as he played for a summer league team that wasn’t Philly’s.
(via No Chill with Gilbert Arenas|Fubo Sports):
Josiah Johnson: “What was the summer league experience like for you back then in 1995?”
Stackhouse: “It was actually pretty weird, man, because we didn’t have a summer league team. The Sixers didn’t put a team, most teams had a team in, but we didn’t, so I kinda played on an independent team. It was out in Long Beach at the time. So it was cool to get out to LA, but I was with a bunch of free agents and we were hooping against other teams, and whatnot. But it was cool, though. I was just so excited to be in the league and be around that type of talent, but it was definitely not what it is today, man. It’s unbelievable what the NBA has done with the summer league and how it’s grown and everybody kinda comes out. It’s a reunion, it’s a brotherhood. Guys that haven’t seen each other in a long time, you get to visit and talk about the good old days, which we all had.”
