SAN FRANCISCO – After days of waiting to make his NBA summer league debut at the California Classic, Alex Toohey certainly didn’t envision wearing a Warriors jersey for the first time to be in a nearly empty Chase Center.
“First of all, it was obviously nice to be out there and not watch for once,” Toohey said Tuesday night. “It was definitely weird with no fans, but I mean, just got to play no matter what. I’ve probably played in more games with empty gyms than full gyms.
“Kind of used to it, but definitely hard.”
Fans were not allowed in the arena Tuesday. The final day of the California Classic always is reserved for the media, team personnel and family.
Warriors fans didn’t miss much. The Warriors lost 93-79 against the Miami Heat to conclude their three games on their home court, going 1-2 overall. Their first Las Vegas Summer League game is Friday at 8 p.m. PT against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Toohey, the No. 52 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, played 24 minutes against the Heat and finished the loss with six points, six rebounds, four turnovers and three fouls. He went 1 of 5 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts but was a perfect 4 of 4 at the free throw line.
His one made shot was a layup at the rim after being rewarded for constant movement without the ball.
“He played pretty hard and he’s just taking time to adapt to the game and whatnot,” coach Lainn Wilson said. “For his first showing, from an effort standpoint is everything we asked for. Then we just got to take a look and see for him adapting to the game and such.
“It’s normal for a guy in his position.”
Watching from the bench is far different than playing the game. Toohey, in the Warriors’ first two games, had a front-row view of the speed and physicality of summer league after spending the last two years playing professionally in Australia. He admitted the size and length of his competition will take some time getting used to.
There were times that he had a step on his man, only to see a hand in the lane obstruct his play.
“I think it’s definitely a jump,” Toohey said. “The athletes here are the best of the best. It’ll definitely take some adjusting to, but I think overall, as long as you get better each day you’re trending in the right direction.”
Summer league can be extremely physical, often resulting in sloppy showings without much flow to the game. Players have 10 fouls to work with instead of fouling out at six. The extra fouls usually lead to a whole lot of hacking, making it unfair to judge players off one game or multiple exhibitions that won’t count in the long run.
Warriors scouts and front office executives traveled twice to Australia during the NBL’s season to watch Toohey and other prospects. The reasons they were intrigued by him then are the same reasons they believe in him going forward.
The size, versatility and intelligence of the 21-year-old were seen Tuesday, despite an unkind box score. Toohey, who plays both forward positions, began the game guarding point guard Kasparas Jakucionis, the player the Heat took in the first round with the pick they received from the Warriors in February’s Jimmy Butler trade at No. 20 overall. He also spent time on forward Keshad Johnson, as well as guards Pelle Larsson and Kira Lewis Jr.
Toohey forced a backcourt violation on Larsson near the end of the first half, and he also was beat off the dribble a couple of times by the 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 14.2 minutes per game as a rookie last season. Both instances are experiences he can grow from.
While Toohey only made one shot, the ball never stuck to his hands. And his feet constantly were moving. Team basketball, offensively and defensively, appears to come naturally to him.
There’s a lot Toohey can take from his summer league debut, and he’ll look to build off the positives and negatives in Las Vegas starting Friday night.
“I thought I struggled,” Toohey admitted. “I was good in patches, but overall probably wasn’t as consistent as I’d like to see. Kind of adjusting to that next level of play, and I think it’s just going to get better each time.”
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