We’re already on day six of the NBA Summer League. With these teams nearly finished and some of the star players already benched, things start to get strange. This is when the Summer League truly kicks off, as the remaining players compete for future contracts.
Rob Dillingham #1 (MIN)
Terrence Shannon Jr. #4 (MIN)
Leonard Miller #33 (MIN)
Joan Beringer #19 (MIN)
Ronald Holland II #5 (DET)
Chaz Lanier #20 (DET)
Bobi Klintman #34 (DET)
This should be a solid game. Both teams have won all their games and are looking good for the Summer League Tournament. We’ve seen some nice progress from Minnesota so far, with Beringer having a strong early showing and Shannon proving himself as the team leader. This group is well-rounded when it comes to their roster. Between Miller, Dillingham, Shannon, and Beringer, their court group is massive. Going into game three, it’s hard to tell if they’ll all start again, but if they do, this team will be looking excellent against the Pistons.
It’s not like the Pistons have been slouches in this either. They’ve been solid with some real NBA talent on the roster. Holland and Klintman have been fine; neither are shooting effectively, but you see that in Summer League. The Pistons’ rookie Chaz Lanier has been about as advertised. A solid, quick guard who can beat you off the dribble, but has been a little more focused on hitting threes. Overall, I think this team has been fun to watch, but I’m a little worried about how they’ll match up against Minnesota. If neither side benches their players yet, I think Minnesota will have the advantage, but if Shannon or Beringer get benched tonight, it’s going to be razor close. Still, I have to go with Minnesota taking this one.
Egor Demin #8 (BKN)
Danny Wolf #18 (BKN)
Ben Saraf #77 (BKN)
Nolan Traore #19 (BKN)
Drake Powell #4 (BKN)
Dink Pate #28 (NYK)
Pacome Dadiet #4 (NYK)
Next, we have the battle for New York, with the Nets facing off against the Knicks. Neither team has won a game in Summer League yet, which is less surprising for the Knicks, but for Brooklyn—who drafted five first-round picks this year—that's a little odd. They added quite a bit of talent to their roster, but it already looks awkward. After prioritizing guards with multi-positional skills, they all seem decent at everything and excel at nothing. Scoring has become an issue, with Drew Timme ending their last game with 24 attempts. The game plan was either to shoot a three or throw the ball to Timme. It was fine, but eventually their limited defense and fouls caused problems. Still, they should have a more talented group than the Knicks, who are walking into this game with a thin talent pool.
The Knicks didn’t have much to show in Summer League. Without a first-round pick, they were already limited, but they’ve tried a shotgun approach to fix it. They played 14 players in their last game, with no one exceeding 30 minutes. Luckily for them, one guy did stand out last game—Kevin McCullar Jr. The 56th pick in the 2024 draft scored 30 points with great shooting. Although he only played four games last season in the NBA, moments like this can help players earn a spot in the full-time lineup. We’ll see if he can do it again against a weak Nets defense.
Jase Richardson #11 (ORL)
Tristan da Silva #23 (ORL)
Noah Penda #93 (ORL)
Thomas Sorber #12 (OKC)
Ajay Mitchell #25 (OKC)
Nikola Topic #44 (OKC)
This OKC Summer League roster still feels unfair. They brought in some key contributors who helped them in their title run. However, now that most of them are on the bench, it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the team performs. With OKC’s eye for talent, it looks like they’ll be fine. They’ve already found some good pieces in Chris Youngblood and Brooks Barnhizer. Especially if Topic and Mitchell keep playing, this will be a tough team to beat.
As for the Magic, they’re still looking for that first win, even though I like their team. With da Silva back, Jase Richardson, and Noah Penda, they have some decent options. It just hasn’t clicked yet. I think we’ll see those three keep playing, especially Richardson, who needs the reps. Regarding how competitive they’ll be against the Thunder, I don’t see them doing much, even if OKC rests some players. They simply have the scoring edge over the Magic, which will be tough to overcome.
Jonathan Mogbo #2 (TOR)
Collin Murray-Boyles #12 (TOR)
Ja’Kobe Walter #14 (TOR)
DaRon Holmes II #14 (DEN)
So, we have the Nuggets on one side with no wins and the Raptors on the other with no losses. It’s been an interesting run for these teams, but the talent is much more evident on Toronto. First, they have Colin Murray-Boyles, their ninth pick in the draft this year, who is locking things down. He hasn’t been huge on the scoreboard, but they drafted him as an elite defender, and he’s shown that in Summer League. He’s still raw, though—with five turnovers and eight fouls, he’s a bit of a loose cannon at times. However, with Ja’Kobe Walters and Mogobo, this group has looked good altogether. I expect Toronto to keep these players going and give the Nuggets a tough time tonight.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, just lacked high-end talent. I really like Holmes a lot; after missing his entire rookie season due to injury, I believe he’ll be an important part of Denver this year. He’s been okay in Summer League, hitting a few threes and grabbing boards. He’s not going to flood the box score, but he’s already a net positive player, which is great to see. Beyond Holmes, the list gets pretty thin, but the Nuggets do have Hunter Tyson and Spencer Jones. Neither are names most NBA fans will recognize, but they’re decent Summer League players. Still, this team is going to struggle against the more talented Toronto squad. I don’t see the Nuggets pulling this one off.
Johni Broome #22 (PHI)
Adem Bona #30 (PHI)
VJ Edgecombe #77 (PHI)
Bub Carrington #7 (WAS)
Kyshawn George #18 (WAS)
Alex Sarr #20 (WAS)
Dillion Jones #33 (WAS)
The 76ers have surprisingly not participated much in Summer League. They have kept Edgecombe benched in both games so far, which is disappointing. Overall, the team isn’t terrible; Adem Bona and Johni Broome are still decent Summer League options. Plus, they have found a decent amount of production from Hunter Sallis and Dominick Barlow. Two solid players, but definitely fringe NBA players at best. Still, they have the talent to score in Summer League, which gives me some hope for the 76ers in this one.
The Wizards, on the other hand, have brought most of their team to Summer League. The most surprising player has been Alexander Sarr, the second pick in the 2024 draft. He’s played in both games along with Bub Carrington, the 14th pick last year, Tre Johnson the 6th pick this year and Kyshawn George. The four of them put this group in the top 3 for raw talent in Summer League. However, they’ve split their games so far, and I doubt we’ll see much more of Sarr. That puts this group in a strange position. On paper, they should dominate this game, but if Sarr is gone, I could see them struggling defensively, especially against two solid bigs like Broome and Bona. This is likely going to be a toss-up, but I’m still leaning toward the Wizards tonight in the hope that they’re rolling out their full lineup again.
Hansen Yang #16 (POR)
Rayan Rupert #21 (POR)
James Bouknight #42 (POR)
Jeremiah Fears #0 (NOL)
Yves Missi #21 (NOL)
Derik Queen #22 (NOL)
Scoring efficiency is not something either of these teams brought to Summer League. With both teams shooting under 40% from the field last game, this could be a sloppy matchup between two interesting groups. The Pelicans have a fascinating Summer League team this year. After making some big moves in the draft, they landed Jeremiah Fears at 7 and Derick Queen at 13. We’ll see if their gamble pays off this year, but so far the Summer League results are mixed. Fears has been woefully inaccurate while firing up a ton of shots. Queen hasn’t been much better with some poor shooting as well, but at least he’s been grabbing plenty of boards. The duo of Missi and Queen does make for a stout front court, but if they can’t get the ball through the hoop, they’re going to continue to struggle, especially against Portland.
Portland hasn’t been scoring much in Summer League either. However, their Summer League rotation continues to reflect their front office’s strategy of prioritizing defense. With Rayan Rupert and Hanson Yang, Portland has a strong point of attack and post defense. However, neither of those guys are volume scorers, which has led to Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love taking the most shot attempts. It’s not like they’re doing terrible at hitting shots, but it’s definitely a limiting factor. Still, against the Pelicans, they will have a chance. This is going to be another close game, but my money is on Portland tonight.
Will Richard #3 (GSW)
Alex Toohey #22 (GSW)
Jaylen Wells #0 (MEM)
Cedric Coward #23 (MEM)
GG Jackson #45 (MEM)
Finally, on tonight's docket, we have the Grizzlies facing off against the Warriors. Both teams are currently 1-1, with only a few notable players on either side. I was a bit surprised to see Jaylen Wells back in Summer League after an impressive rookie season for Memphis. Since he was a starter for a good part of last year, he seems a little too established for Summer League. I have a feeling he’ll probably be benched either this game or the next, but without him, this team looks pretty weak. They have a few other lesser-known players on the roster, but overall, this game will likely come down to whether Jaylen Wells is playing or not.
With the Warriors, their strategy of simply adding as many bodies as possible to their roster is paying off. After winning their last game against Utah, which has one of the more talented rosters in Summer League, the Warriors seem feisty. No one on the roster played more than 25 minutes in that game, and it looked like a hockey game out there with all the rotations. Still, they managed to get some scoring from the bench and kept the Jazz on the perimeter. It wasn’t a pretty game at all, but it shows that the Warriors’ next-man-up mentality is actually working. If they’re facing Memphis without Wells tonight, I think they’ll handle it pretty easily.