What we learned about Magic guard Jett Howard at Las Vegas summer league

From his first 3-point shot at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas to his last, it quickly became clear Magic guard Jett Howard had grown in confidence in the past year.

The second-year pro came out firing from beyond the arc at NBA summer league and was accurate.

Howard shot 47.6% on 7.0 attempts to average 19 points and 3.3 assists during 29 minutes in three games. He spent the majority of his rookie year in the G League with Orlando ‘s affiliate, and that helped him get a better feel for the pro level.

“[I’m] just growing up and getting a better feel and understanding for the game which is always good,” Howard said, “letting it come more naturally than overthinking it.”

Howard displayed patience on both ends of floor while searching for his shot and putting himself in the right spot to help on defense. Being able to guard at a reliable level is what will ultimately lead to his playing time under coach Jamahl Mosley.

And it’s clear to Howard’s teammates that the Michigan product understands that importance of stout defense based on what they see daily.

“They’re challenging him to work on his defense and he’s proven every day that he’s going to get better there [by] asking questions in practice and taking every rep serious in practice,” Magic guard Anthony Black said. “There’s definitely a lot of improvement there.

“The shotmaking that we all know Jett is capable of — we saw that on display along with his defense,” he added.

Magic co-founder Pat Williams encouraged, impacted those around him

Leading up to Orlando’s training camp in October, Mosley wants Howard to continue to improve his feel for the game, “meaning when [to] and [when] not to use everything in your arsenal,” Howard said.

Howard will head to New York to work with his father, Juwan, who the Magic guard played under in college. Juwan, fired by Michigan in March, recently became an assistant under Nets coach Jordi Fernandez.

Following his time up north, Jett Howard will head back to Orlando to work at the franchise’s training facility before training camp starts.

He understands what he needs to work on to crack the Magic’s rotation during his sophomore campaign.

“I’m probably just trying to work on getting separation, setting my man up, simplifying my game,” he said. “Obviously because the NBA’s not summer league, just simplifying [my game] and making it more efficient.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com