Sindarius Thornwell has burst onto the NBA Summer League scene, having turned in two strong performances on national TV in his first three professional games.
The LA Clippers guard made waves in his debut, scoring 26 points and getting to the foul line 18 times in an overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers, featuring former top-three picks Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. Though Ingram wound up with 26 points of his own, Thornwell was lauded for his aggressive defense and toughness.
“You don’t ask to guard the best player on the opposite team. He asked for the challenge,” Clippers Summer League coach Sam Cassell said of Thornwell, who is averaging 16 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in three games. “To see him go out there and put forth the effort and take on the challenge to guard a guy like Ingram was huge.”
For Thornwell, he thought he was just doing what he’s supposed to do.
“I’ve always guarded the best wing throughout college and so I felt like I should have been on him,” Thornwell said. “When he got going, that’s when I stepped up and took the challenge. It was good.”
Cassell described Thornwell as a pitbull, a comparison that shouldn’t surprise many in Columbia, as the former Gamecock averaged 2.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on his way to SEC Player of the Year honors as a senior.
After a down game against Utah, Thornwell bounced back Monday night against Milwaukee, scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds in another win for the Clippers, making them 3-0 heading into the tournament. Thornwell played the entire fourth quarter for LA, helping the team to a 29-18 advantage in the final 10-minute period.
Cassell and Gamecock fans aren’t the only ones paying attention to Thornwell anymore. The Lancaster native was the focal point of an LA Times column Monday night, and he’s caught the attention of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers as well as executive Lawrence Frank.
“He can score,” Rivers said. “But what I like more about him is his toughness.”
“He just knows how to play the game, and that toughness and that competitiveness, I thought that’s what stood out to me,” Frank added. “... You embrace someone who just kind of embraces competition.”
Now having won their first three games, Thornwell and the Clippers will await the Summer League tournament, which ends with the title game on July 17.
Sindarius Thornwell making a name for himself in NBA Summer League
