Boogie Ellis didn’t get to hear his name called in June’s NBA draft, but he will have a chance to make a team after a solid showing in the Las Vegas Summer League.
The Sacramento Kings are signing Ellis to a training camp contract, a league source told The Sacramento Bee. If Ellis doesn’t earn a roster spot in training camp, he could land with the G League Stockton Kings.
Ellis, 23, is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard who went undrafted out of USC. He was a key member of Sacramento’s summer league squad, averaging 10.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 48.6% from the field and 50% from 3-point range over five games in Las Vegas.
Ellis was a consensus four-star recruit out of Mission Bay High School in San Diego. He initially committed to Duke before choosing to go to Memphis instead.
Ellis spent two seasons at Memphis before transferring to USC. As a fifth-year senior last season, Ellis averaged a team-high 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals. He shot 42.7% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range.
Ellis went undrafted despite leading the Trojans in scoring. Meanwhile, teammate Bronny James, who was eighth on the team in scoring at 4.8 points per game, joined forces with his father, LeBron James, when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in the draft.
Ellis said he is happy for his former college teammate, but he can’t help feeling like he has something to prove as he tries to make his own way in the NBA.
“That’s one of my brothers, so I’m glad he got the opportunity, but at the end of the day this is business,” Ellis said. “Everybody’s trying to feed their family, so I definitely have a chip on my shoulder. I believe I’m a great basketball player and I’m better than a lot the guys who were picked, but at the end of the day I’ve got to go show my hard work, show what I do. So just continue to work, keep my head down and keep working, and it’s going to pay off.”
