Courtesy of LehighSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Recent Lehigh men’s basketball graduate Tim Kempton has accepted an opportunity to play for the Milwaukee Bucks’ Summer League team from July 7-17 at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, with hopes of earning an NBA contract for the upcoming 2017-18 season. Kempton will become Lehigh’s second graduate in four years to play in the NBA Summer League, following C.J. McCollum in 2013.
ESPN and NBA TV will bring fans all the action from NBA Summer League 2017. A complete broadcast and game schedule will be released at a later date.
Leading up to the NBA draft, Kempton worked out for eight teams, and was impressive. Following Thursday’s NBA Draft, multiple organization offered Kempton the chance to play for their summer league team, and Milwaukee proved to be the best opportunity.
“It’s a great opportunity. The Bucks only bring 13 guys to camp, including Thon Maker and some of the guys currently on the Bucks’ roster,” said Kempton’s agent Ronnie Zeidel of RZA Sports. “Tim is part of the rotation and they’re excited to have him. We wanted a team that made sense for him. Before Summer League, he’ll be working out in a mini camp with (Bucks head coach) Jason Kidd and his staff this coming Monday (June 26) through Friday (June 30).”
In Summer League, Kempton will go up against some of the league’s top young talent, including recent draft picks, signings and even some players who have seen extensive NBA regular season and postseason action. The Las Vegas Summer League will feature a record 24 teams.
“There could be an opportunity for Tim to earn a two-way contract with any NBA team should he play well in Summer League,” said Zeidel.
Regardless what happens over the coming weeks, Kempton is in a great situation because he recently signed a contract with Bilboa Basket out of the ACB, the top league in Spain and arguably, all of Europe. The contract is situational, which gives Kempton flexibility if all goes well in Summer League and he earns an NBA contract.
“We can get out of the contract with Bilboa until the end of July should we decide to go with an NBA team that wants to sign him to either a two-way contract, a partially guaranteed contract or any contract,” said Zeidel.
Bilboa plays in both the ACB and EuroCup, an annual European wide professional basketball competition.
“For a rookie to play in a league in Europe that also plays on a team in EuroCup is a big deal,” said Zeidel. “Most teams just play in their league. In Tim’s particular case, he’ll be playing for the team in the ACB league and EuroCup.”
No matter what, Kempton knows he will be playing professionally at a very high level this coming season, but at the moment, he is totally focused on earning a spot in the NBA.
“Tim is an extremely hard worker,” said Zeidel. “Every team he worked out for gave him glowing reports. We were hopeful to get drafted, but with such a deep draft, we knew there was a good chance that he wouldn’t. But not being drafted does not mean Tim won’t play in the NBA.”
Kempton was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year and AP honorable mention All-American during his historic career at Lehigh. He ended his career as Lehigh’s all-time leading rebounder, also finishing second in Patriot League history with 1,095 career boards. Kempton finished third in school history and fourth in league history in points (2,043), posting 54 career double-doubles, including 21 in 32 games as a senior. He was recognized nationally on numerous occasions, including being named a Final Five Finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award presented to the National Center of the Year.
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