Bamba keeps photo of Ayton being drafted No. 1 as his screensaver

LAS VEGAS - Prior to last month's NBA draft, Mohamed Bamba made his case that the Phoenix Suns should select him first overall. "I do more and require less," he said.

The Suns, as expected, however, picked fellow center DeAndre Ayton. Bamba went No. 6 to the Orlando Magic. While Bamba isn't bitter, he's not forgetting it, either.

"I try and keep that mindset of a guy like Draymond Green," Bamba told theScore after Monday's Suns-Magic Summer League showdown. "You know, (Ayton) walking across the stage and being picked No. 1 is still my screensaver to this day, and I mean it. It’s motivation that’s going to carry over onto the court."

Phoenix won Monday's game, and it was to both of their recollections, the first time an Ayton squad has beaten one of Bamba's. The pair never faced off during their one year of college, but Bamba boasted a 4-0 record over the years in AAU play.

"Four-one now," Ayton said. "Finally got one."

Few would posit that the NBA’s current pace-and-space era is in any danger of disappearing anytime soon, but Monday night's main event in Vegas was something of a throwback to the old school, with two big men battling as the focal point.

While Ayton outscored Bamba 17-4 in a 71-53 Suns win, it wasn't just two bigs grappling in the paint and eating up possessions. Both have franchise player potential - something not brought to fruition from a traditional center in some time - and the pair have contemporary games.

Bamba's ability to step out and drain a three is made even more effective by his draft combine-record 7-foot-10 wingspan. And as such, defensively he could be scary good. He blocked five shots in Monday's loss, including this one:

A few moments later, however, Ayton caught Bamba off guard, sliding in behind him to finish an alley-oop dunk:

Bamba understands that polish is probably why Ayton was selected ahead of him, but he also knows there's plenty of time to close any gap. "It’s just a matter of dominating the details," he said.

The Magic's bizarre recent history with big men has seen the franchise keep players like Nikola Vucevic, Serge Ibaka, and Bismack Biyombo on the roster at the same time while trying to cram Aaron Gordon into minutes at the three. While two of those bigs are now gone, Vucevic figures to be trade bait if Bamba breaks out sooner than expected.

In the meantime, the Texas product won't take anything for granted - even with that monstrous wingspan.

"There's guys that are way bigger than me and I gotta get around and fight, do the dirty work," he said.