Warriors sharpshooter Jessup improved throughout Summer League — but can he make the roster?

It took a while, but Justinian Jessup saved his best performance for the Warriors’ last Summer League game.

The 51st pick in the 2020 draft, Jessup spent last season playing overseas in Australia’s NBL before making his Golden State debut in Summer League. As he adjusted to the more NBA-like speed of the game, he worked through some rough performances, averaging just 11 points on 40% shooting over his first four games in Las Vegas.

But on Tuesday Jessup, 23, capped off his Summer League experience with his best outing of the week, totaling 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 4 for 7 on 3-pointers, in 32 minutes during the Warriors’ 84-76 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“The speed of the game started to slow down for him and he didn’t feel like he had to hunt shots,” Warriors Summer League head coach Kris Weems said. “He was maybe being a little overly aggressive but trying to prove what he can do on the floor, which is make shots. And then the ball started to find him.

“He just has to learn how to play off the other guys, which I think he’s fully capable of doing.”

Jessup finished Summer League with averages of 12.4 points on 42.9% shooting (both overall and from 3-point range), 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in five games.

After going 3 for 10 overall and 1 for 5 from 3-point range in Golden State’s first game in Las Vegas, Jessup saw his numbers steadily pick up. In the team’s second game against Toronto, he went 5 for 10 and knocked down three of his four shots from 3-point range for 13 points. Following a 16-point outing on Sunday which, at the time, had been his highest-scoring game of Summer League, Jessup started Tuesday hot, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter.

“Definitely got more confident as I went along,” Jessup said. “The pace of the game slowed down for me. I started figuring out where my shots are going to come from and just stopped forcing things and started focusing on things I can control like talking on defense, running the floor hard. Then the rest of it — making shots — will take care of itself.”

At times, Jessup struggled to stay in front of opponents on defense and appeared to lag behind his peers athletically. Billed as a sharpshooter coming out of Boise State, Jessup needs to make 3-pointers consistently to make up for his defensive inefficiencies. In games when he’s not making shots, Jessup looks destined to return to Australia.

But his strong finish to Summer League could earn him an extended look. The Warriors will open training camp at the end of September and, with 17 players under contract, still have three spots available. NBA teams can carry up to 20 players during the preseason before having to trim the roster to 15 by opening night, plus a pair of two-way roster spots.

The Warriors have already used one two-way spot on point guard Chris Chiozza, meaning Jessup’s best chance of making the team is likely by claiming the last remaining two-way deal. Because Golden State has his draft rights, it’s either that or another year of seasoning in the NBL.

“I just wanted to come out here and get better and prove that I belong,” Jessup said of his Summer League experience. “Hopefully, I did that.”