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Giorgi Bezhanishvili makes debut in the Denver Nuggets summer league

By Rees Woodcock

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) throws his hands up to get the crowd hyped during the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 21, 2021, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports
Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) throws his hands up to get the crowd hyped during the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 21, 2021, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA Summer League is in full force, and a familiar name is suiting up for the Denver Nuggets.

Over the past decade or so, former Illinois basketball players have had their shake at the NBA Summer League. This time around, former Illini Giorgi Bezhanishvili is getting a shot at The Association with the Nuggets.

I was a bit surprised when Giorgi decided to leave the Illinois basketball program, but I am happy to see him trying to accomplish his dreams of getting into the NBA. His first time in the spotlight of the summer league was on Sunday when Denver took on the Miami Heat.


Giorgi had a chance to play a total of 14 minutes and 37 seconds in the game, which is some solid playing time in the summer league. Clearly, there will be some growing pains as he enters a new level of basketball, but Giorgi didn’t play badly by any means.

Giorgi is going to have to tighten up his game to make the Denver Nuggets roster.

In just under 15 minutes Giorgi saw the court Sunday, he was able to go 2-of-4 from the field and 0-of-1 from three-point range. Those aren’t bad numbers. He had a positive stat line of 4 points and 3 rebounds.

On the bad side of things, Giorgi did have 5 fouls and 3 turnovers in the game. At the beginning of his Illinois career, Giorgi was a foul machine. He gets a little wild at times, but it isn’t for a lack of effort. The kid tries extremely hard.

Overall, though, Giorgi finished with a +/- of -8 for the game, which isn’t terrible considering the Heat beat the Nuggets by 20 points, 97-77.

If you look at some of the more seasoned players on the team, Giorgi’s numbers don’t look bad at all. Bol Bol finished with 21 points but shot 5-of-14 from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range. He also had six turnovers in the game.

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Giorgi just being on the court is a success for the former Illini big man. In his first performance in the NBA, I would say he did well. There is still room for improvement, but Giorgi is seeing minutes and that is important. I would say he is on track to, at least, make the Nuggets G-League team, the Grand Rapids Drive. So, Illini fans may end up getting to see Giorgi play locally.

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