How did Sergio De Larrea go from a relatively unknown Spanish prospect to a standout at the Summer League (SL), providing some of the most exciting highlights of the week?
Toni Canyameras, a journalist covering the NBA for Spanish sports media Mundo Deportivo from Toronto, followed De Larrea closely during SL. He was also able to interview both De Larrea, Mavs SL head coach Joe Boylan and his teammates about the Spanish rookie’s first experience playing in the US.
So I asked Toni Canyameras about his
impression of his countryman during SL:
“The way he [Sergio De Larrea] has dominated on the offensive end through his understanding of the game has been really impressive. While we can’t compare the Summer League to the NBA, it was a completely new environment for him on and off the court and he has dictated the pace and the tempo of the possessions with his passing.”
The 20-year-old point guard averaged 10 assists and tied the record of 14 in a single game, which only three other players had accomplished in the SL, Canyameras pointed out.
“His ease in producing alley-oop passes has been incredible, and nobody knew how to stop it, despite it often being the same situation: De Larrea driving to his right to deliver the lob pass.”
This compilation by the Dallas Mavericks social media team provides some great examples of just that. De Larrea’s vision and passing ability, as well as the natural feel he seems to have for the game, stands out.
“A knack and feel” for the game and that it’s “innate”, “something you can’t teach”, as Mavs SL head coach Joe Boylan describes it. We will get back to that later.
De Larrea’s ability to scan and pass before the defender can catch up left defenses scrambling. And Dallas excited.
“The special thing about him is how quickly he sees everything and his fast decision-making,” Canyameras said.
Was Mavs coach Joe Boylan impressed with De Larrea’s passing, as well? To say the least:
“I mean, you saw some of those – he jumped up, looked at the corner, threw it to the wing. Just unbelievable passes,” Boylan told Canyameras.
“He’s [Sergio De Larrea] a guy, who is kinda wise beyond his years. He showed you guys the alley-oop pass and he has some things that you just can’t teach.”
When asked how De Larrea’s lob passing will translate to the NBA and to playing with the Mavericks bigs, Joe Boylan said:
“I think it’s a perfect fit. Everyone talks about how in the NBA it’s bigger, stronger, better athletes. I think that plays into Sergio’s strength. His ability to find guys above the rim… He does a great job of communicating with his teammates of things he wants to see to put them in positions to be successful.”
Being able to interview Sergio De Larrea in his native language, as well as having followed him and other Spanish players in their local leagues previously, gives Toni Canyameras a unique understanding of the Mavs rookie. Was he as mature off the court in SL as he seemed when he played?
“He looks like a humble, mature and very easy-going guy off the court. I feel he is very genuine, like when he is playing basketball. He gave us very honest and insightful answers and never wanted to brag about his passes; he always gave credit to his teammates for catching his lob passes and converting them into assists,” Canyameras said.
“He’s so poised, he’s so composed,” coach Boylan said about De Larrea.
“He was a little down on himself for some of the shots, but we don’t want to judge guys by just the results. We want it to be process oriented, and I think he took a bunch of great shots.”
“And we believe in him,” Boylan told Toni Canyameras after game one.
The Dallas Mavericks clearly had great expectations for their new rookie backup point guard before SL, and he seems to have lived up to all of them.
And so it looks like Sergio De Larrea, affectionately called Larry in Spain – which was immediately adopted by Mavs fans and media alike – could be looking forward to a much bigger role next season than most people expected.
Though more moves could be on the horizon, it was very telling when Dallas traded backup point guard Ryan Nembhard earlier this week. He was part of a three-team trade, sending Nembhard to Atlanta and acquiring former number one pick, Zaccharie Risacher from France. Trading a pg for a wing seems to be a clear signal that the Mavs intend for De Larrea to play a bigger role than most expected.
The trade came right after SL, suggesting that the Mavs wanted to make sure De Larrea was as good as they hoped, before making any moves. And according to Boylan, they have no doubts.
He remained enthusiastic about De Larrea the whole week, offering details of what stood out to him:
“He handled the pick’n’roll. I thought he did a great job at handling a lot of the pressure. Summer League can be really difficult for taller guards, because you get these athletic pressure guards to try to get up under you.”
“Super impressive job. He was facing full court pressure the whole game. You saw he was exhausted… It was just an awesome performance by Sergio,” Boylan told Canyameras after the game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The story of the Dallas Mavericks’ connection to De Larrea goes back further than most of us realized. He was not a prospect they just stumbled upon.
They had kept an eye on him for a while, according to the 6’7 point guard himself. He emphasized that he wanted to feel ready before making the jump to the best league in the world.
“Dallas had been following me for a while, and I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. But above all, they had confidence in me, and I felt physically and mentally ready to make the leap,” De Larrea told Toni Canyameras.
And Boylan also revealed that the 20-year-old, still riding on the wave of winning the Spanish ACB league championship with Valencia, went straight to work as he came to Dallas.
“He’s got an amazing feel for the game. He was sending me clips last night about how to attack the defense that Memphis runs. He’s a student of the game. He’s studying on film. And then I just think some of it is innate. He has a knack and feel.”
While De Larrea’s ball-handling had been questioned after the first games, perhaps looking somewhat loose, it improved vastly as the week progressed, Canyameras points out.
“Another thing that stood out to me was how confident he became in his ball-handling as the Summer League went on. I’d say that he still has to put a lot of work into his body but managed to beat high-ball pressure with his skillful handling. He knows very well how to change pace and direction with his crossovers.”
Joe Boylan:
“I agree. He faced full court pressure from NBA caliber guards for 40 minutes and he did a tremendous job of attacking their pressure. I mean, he was really vocal in the timeouts. Really stepped into a leadership role with some of our other guys out. Really, really proud of what he did tonight.”
But what about his SL teammates? What did they think about this youngster straight from the Spanish system and tradition?
“Always looking to create for others before himself,” was the first thing Mavs two-way player and SL teammate John Poulakidas said when asked what it’s been like to play with De Larrea.
“When you got a player like that on the floor it makes basketball a hell of a lot easier for everybody else,” he told Canyameras.
As always, when Europeans make the transfer to the NBA, there’s a lot of rumbling about whether they can handle the physicality and athleticism of the NBA. So I asked Toni Canyameras about his thoughts on this.
“That’s a good question. I think he will gain more ability to drive and break down defenses, attacking one-on-one’s. Due to his ease in making assists, teams might go for more switching to guard him in order to take away time and space for those passes, and in this context he will have to create advantages by attacking bigs on the perimeter.”
Here’s what Joe Boylan said when Canyameras asked him about the next step in De Larrea’s game. This also says a lot about how Dallas is planning on using him next season:
“A lot of teams will be so scared of him playing in pick and roll against coverage that he will face a lot more switching in the regular season, and there will be opportunities for him to create one-on-one and to go and finish at the rim and finish contested layups. I think that’s going to be the next step in his growth, just the ability to go and break down his man, going and finishing contested layups.”
And Boylan later got even more into details about how the Mavs intend to use De Larrea next season:
“He looks like someone who played point guard growing up. His passing, his vision, his IQ … then he hit a growth spurt and that probably allowed him to potentially play multiple positions. And I think the NBA is trending towards having as many point guards on the floor as you can at one time. I think that gives you a lot of flexibility and adaptability, you can play alongside another ball-handler.”
“I think he’ll get opportunities both as a primary and as a secondary guy,” Boylan said.
As the Dallas Mavericks are looking more international than in a long time, the influence of more team-oriented players will show, as well. Another thing to look forward to in the upcoming season.
Interviews and videos used in this article by Toni Canyameras (follow him on X here):
Joe Boylan:
Sergio De Larrea:
John Poulakidas:
