DaJuan Summers has worn a lot of jerseys in his basketball career, from Georgetown’s blue and gray to the Pistons’ iconic red, white, and blue. But ask him where he learned the most about the modern game, and his answer is clear: Europe.
In a wide-ranging interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Summers opened up about how overseas basketball taught him principles that now define today’s NBA—spacing, versatility, and positionless play.
“Overseas I could get more of that — it was a system,” Summers explained. “Just to see the transitions that have been made here at home with positionless basketball, I’m just proud of it. I’m proud to be a part of it.”
After being selected 35th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Summers had stints with the Hornets and Clippers before taking his game abroad. He played in Turkey, Italy, Ukraine, and Korea, gaining perspective that would later shape his basketball worldview.
Now competing in the BIG3, Summers is still chasing competition while reflecting on what shaped his career. Among the key lessons from Europe? The structure. “You didn’t have to really worry about your skill set,” he said. “It was more put in place for you.”
But the former first-rounder pushes back on the criticism American players sometimes receive in contrast to their international counterparts. “Our players are NOT lazy. It’s not even up for conversation,” Summers emphasized.
He argues that American training styles have simply evolved. “Now you have guys who spend an hour or hour and a half with their trainer working on specific skill sets… in Europe you’ll have two practices a day with your team—rain, sleet, hail, snow.”
Summers also had high praise for international stars like Nikola Jokic, calling him “highly skilled” and noting, “He’s passing, he’s scoring, he’s rebounding AND he’s playing defense. He’s playing both sides of the ball.”
Despite the rising global talent, Summers believes the narrative around American players needs to shift. “There’s a different level of competitiveness that we have here and we take it personally,” he said.
Summers vividly recalled his first interaction with Carmelo Anthony after Syracuse’s national title run. “We were just out there running 1-on-1’s and playing and I got to watch him… I was a kid, you know? Like, 12 or 13.”
Asked whether Paul George deserves comparisons to Carmelo or Kyrie, Summers pushed back. “I’m always going ‘Melo if you’re comparing him and Paul George. It’s not even a question.”
