LAS VEGAS -- Promise is the Siren of most sports leagues.

While the most productive teams obviously win the games, earn the accolades and take home the awards, the prospect for greatness is often more alluring. By definition, the unknown produces more intrigue than the known. (The interest in the Miami Heat, for example, should take a dramatic tumble now that they have won their title and the sideshow has essentially been packed up. Rather than playing the villain role they were cast into since The Decision, the Heat will be only a really good team. Oh, how boring.)

That's the working theory behind the success of Las Vegas Summer League, at least from a business perspective. It's why a large poster featuring Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jeremy Lin and the like looms over the court at Cox Pavilion. Come see the stars of tomorrow, the advertisements beckon.

But while promise is indeed what fills the seats and draws the eyeballs, it's the redemption and the struggle that often lies at the heart of most players' tales here. Sure, you can catch a glimpse of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. And yeah, you can see if Bradley Beal is as good a shooter as advertised. But most players come from the D-League or abroad or the ranks of the undrafted, from the fringes of professional basketball, in search of having that Lin-like performance and latching on with an NBA team.

Or you can fit both. Which is where you can currently find Josh Selby.

Once billed as Rivals.com's top recruit in the high school class of 2010, ahead of other highly touted prep stars like Harrison Barnes, Kyrie Irving and Jared Sullinger, a rough single season at Kansas sent Selby tumbling down draft boards until the Memphis Grizzlies threw him a life raft with the 49th overall pick.

But even then, the production never fit the pedigree. Playing on a veteran-heavy roster and stuck behind both Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo at shooting guard, Selby logged only 28 games in the lockout-shortened season, averaging 2.3 points on 35 percent shooting, 1.1 assists (against one turnover) and 0.3 steals. His pace-adjusted numbers weren't any prettier: 3.36 player efficiency rating (PER) and 10.6 points and 5.1 assists per 40 minutes.

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It took less than two months into the season before he was sent down to the Griz's D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Hardly the path he expected when he set off for Lawrence, Kan.

"He had no place to play," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "He was just a one-and-done guy, didn't know anything about the NBA, he didn't have a summer league, we didn't have a fall camp. We had only two exhibition games. It's hard for a rookie to come in under those circumstances and have any shot at really playing."

Selby has certainly made the most of this year's summer league.

Through four games, the 21-year-old slashing guard is averaging a summer-best 27.5 points on 59 percent shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists (against two turnovers) in 29 minutes a game and looks to be the favorite for the MVP award of the 10-day league. (Rookie Damian Lillard, who didn't play in Portland's finale on Saturday, is his only real competition.) But it's how smooth and effortless that Selby scores that stands out most. He'll toss up a 3-pointer from the corner with a look of boredom, but the ball will make a near-perfect arc, glide through the net and make only a faint sound.

The keys, according to Selby, are "playing and confidence."

"I've got a lot of confidence," Selby said after totalling 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting, 6 rebounds and 6 assists (against 3 turnovers) in a 96-75 loss to the Phoenix Suns. "Confidence will take you a long way."

It doesn't hurt to be playing a style almost tailor-made for him, as well.

While Selby didn't get a shot at Las Vegas Summer League last year because of the lockout, he could often be seen mixing it up with the Kevin Durants and Carmelo Anthonys in the summer-ball/charity-game circuit. Even though he was coming off a relatively gruesome season with the Jayhawks, in which he was suspended the first nine games for receiving improper benefits and hampered by injuries, he fit in alongside most of the players already entrenched as the best in the NBA.

Part of it appeared to be friendships with some of the marquee guys. Part seemed to stem from his success and reputation in high school. But his natural scoring abilities, and relative indifference on defense, were a match for the up-and-down style.

Which is generally what led to his strong showings in Reno, and what seems to be what has led to Selby's domination at summer league. Give the guy the ball against average defenses and he's going to rack up the points.

"I can score," he said. "So any time I can get out on the break, get a layup or take it in transition 3, that's my game. Like I said, the point guard's done a great job finding me and I've been knocking down shots."

Said Hollins: "He is what he is. He's got to be a scoring 2-guard. I don't think he's a point guard, but he makes plays while he's trying to score. And he just happens to be 6-2."

While Selby hasn't exactly flashed more than what we already knew about him, the Grizzlies seem encouraged by his performance, with Hollins saying he has "done a lot toward" contributing and making the rotation. And while Memphis returns the bulk of its veteran core, the loss of O.J. Mayo creates an opening for Selby at backup shooting guard behind Allen -- one you'd assume Selby would get first crack at given his performance here.

Which is what summer league is really all about.

Despite his immense scoring talent and the immense hype that surrounded him heading into college, like most others here in Las Vegas, Selby is just looking for a shot.

"I haven't really looked back in the past and really thought about it," he said. "I'm just worrying about what I've got ahead of me right now. I'm just going to take my best opportunity right here to try to fulfill it."

Justin Verrier is an editor for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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