2025 NBA Summer League

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It's time. NBA Summer League starts this weekend with 4-team events in Salt Lake City and San Francisco, and really gets underway late next week with all 30 teams in Las Vegas. Most/all games can be watched on either NBA TV or an ESPN channel. Take a look at the 2024 thread and the 2023 thread to see how this is going to work. Let's have some fun.

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2025 California Classic Summer League (San Francisco)

Warriors to Host Seventh Annual California Classic Summer League, Presented By Carmax

The Golden State Warriors will host the seventh annual California Classic Summer League, presented by CarMax, at Chase Center on July 5, 6 and 8, f...

www.nba.com

The Golden State Warriors will host the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and San Antonio Spurs in three days of doubleheaders on July 5, 6, and 8. Here's the schedule.

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2025 SLC Summer League (Salt Lake City)

Utah Jazz Continue Tradition of Hosting Salt Lake City Summer League | Utah Jazz

www.nba.com

The Utah Jazz will host the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Philadelphia 76ers in three evenings of doubleheaders on July 5, 7, and 8. Here's the schedule.

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2025 NBA Summer League (Las Vegas), sponsored by NBA 2K26

NBA 2K26 Summer League 2025 tips off July 10 in Las Vegas

The annual showcase features all 30 teams and runs from July 10-20, with all 76 games airing live on ESPN or NBA TV.

www.nba.com

Each of the 30 teams will play at least 5 games (4 scheduled, 1 bonus) from July 10-20. Here's the schedule so far.

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The San Antonio Spurs were the first team to announce a Summer League roster earlier today.


(source)

As expected, recent lottery picks Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant are the headliners. The ACC is represented by 2nd-year player Harrison Ingram, who spent a year at UNC before entering the 2024 draft. He went to Stanford before that, so he'll be returning to the Bay Area for this event.

In the past, teams that went to the California Classic or SLC Summer League could adjust their rosters before the Las Vegas games, adding or subtracting players as needed. We'll see if the Spurs (or the other teams) make any changes.

 

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I forgot that someone works in the Golden State Warriors office on Sundays. Their roster actually came out yesterday.


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Well, hello, Marques Bolden. He's made a few Summer League appearances in previous years, for the Cavaliers and Bucks, I believe. This is his second straight summer with the Warriors; in 2024, he played all three games of the California Classic, but injured his leg in the first Vegas game and did not play further.

Another ACC player is Pittsburgh's Blake Hinson, whose postgame exuberance on the Cameron Indoor sidelines is well-remembered. While I'm applying that particular paper cut, let me add lemon juice in the form of Houston Cougars teammates LJ Cryer and Ja'Vier Francis, both undrafted free agents. Both have Exhibit 10 contracts with Golden State, flexible deals that get them in Summer League and fall training camp, and carry financial incentives to stick around for the G League affiliate.

There's a fair chance that the home fans in the Chase Center won't see 2025 draftees Will Richard and Alex Toohey at all; both were acquired in the 2nd round by trade, and it's unclear when they'll officially join the team. Even then, they'll have had no experience practicing with their new teammates.

 

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"I have no gift for strategy." -- Inigo Montoya, Ace Bailey's agent

Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have no gift for graphics, so once again I have to make a summer roster for them. This one's about that awkward moment that Ace Bailey realized he was headed to Salt Lake City, and his silent maneuvers toward the Wizards or Nets weren't going to work. I don't hold any ill will toward him, but I do find it amusing that his pre-draft approach blew up so spectacularly. We haven't seen a college player fall in the draft due to the company he keeps and end up in Utah since... oh right, last year. Ace Bailey, meet Kyle Filipowski. Get to know each other over the next couple of weeks; you have a little bit in common.



In addition to Bailey and Filipowski, we'll be watching 2025 draft picks Walter Clayton Jr (Florida) and John Tonje (Wisconsin), as well as 2024 selections Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams. The Jazz will play 3 games on their home floor before preparing for Las Vegas.

 

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The Miami Heat have a summer roster for the California Classic and Las Vegas. Well, they have the list of players, but it's up to me to provide the visual.



It's interesting that then-unknown actress Eva Mendes had an uncredited role as Car Driver in Will Smith's 1998 music video for "Miami", and just 7 years later, she was his co-star in the 2005 film Hitch.

Oh, right, basketball. Maybe it's the Erik Spoelstra/Pat Riley-ness of it all, but any draft decision Miami might make is instantly regarded as brilliant. Nique Clifford? Who cares about his age, he's a Heat Culture guy. Walter Clayton Jr? I thought Orlando for him a few picks later, but now that you mention it, perfect! So when Kasparas Jakučionis fell from the lottery to the Heat's #20 pick, the sane voices saying "Really?" got drowned out by those saying "What a steal!"

I'm willing to keep an open mind on Jakučionis as he starts his pro career, even though (1) I remain unconvinced of his Magic Johnson impersonation, and (2) his Illinois team lost to Duke 110-67 in Madison Square Garden last February. His stat line was more than decent: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks. He missed all 4 of his 3-pointers, which was emblematic of the team as a whole -- the Illini shot 2-for-26 from beyond the arc. Spencer Hubbard and Mason Gillis combined to hit as many threes in that game. (Say, they're done with college now. Why aren't they on this Heat roster?)

Jakučionis didn't overlap with Dain Dainja at Illinois, and Oumar Ballo arrived at Indiana after Kel'el Ware declared for the 2024 draft, but there is a mini-reunion of Arizona guys: Pelle Larsson played alongside Ballo from 2021-22 and 2022-23, and then with Keshad Johnson in 2023-24. Also note that Vladislav Goldin -- who made the Final Four with Florida Atlantic -- returns to that general area.

 

[CameronBornAndBred]

We haven't seen a college player fall in the draft due to the company he keeps and end up in Utah since... oh right, last year. Ace Bailey, meet Kyle Filipowski. Get to know each other over the next couple of weeks; you have a little bit in common.

I bet Kyle would have loved to have fallen like Ace fell.

 

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I bet Kyle would have loved to have fallen like Ace fell.

I accepted this statement at first, but thinking in terms of rookie contract money, Spotrac shows that Ace Bailey 2025 fell a lot more than Kyle Filipowski 2024.

With a more savvy agent, Bailey gets picked #3, either by the 76ers or by another team (Wizards, Pelicans, Nets) that traded up to get him. Either way, he gets a 4-year contract worth $50.4M. Instead, as the #5 pick, he makes $41.2M over the next 4 years. That's about a $9.2M difference.

Last year Filipowski was picked #32, in the second round, but got a deal with something close to first round money: 4 years, $12M. By comparison, Utah selected Isaiah Collier with the #29 pick, and he got 4 years, $12.9M. Falling from #29 to #32 is a loss of $900,000. If you want to argue that Filipowski should be somewhere in the top 24 because he was one of the 24 players invited to the green room, then he would have made $14.3M, which means a loss of $2.3M. For Kyle to have actually lost $9.2M, the same as Ace Bailey, he would have had to fall from #14 to #32. And I don't believe that, by draft night, anyone was projecting him to go at the end of the lottery.

 

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The Philadelphia 76ers released a roster today, and it's most notable for who is NOT on there: second-year pro Jared McCain.


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Does that mean the team is fully confident in his development, or that he's still physically not ready to play? I'm inclined to say the latter; most teams would want to have a healed player go through the motions of being with a team again.

As for who IS on the roster, let's start with draft picks VJ Edgecombe and Johni Broome, and add on some familiar ACC names like the recently undrafted free agent Hunter Sallis, as well as existing pros like Keve Aluma, Judah Mintz, and Landers Nolley II. And let's not forget the debut of Caleb Stone-Carrawell, of particular personal interest to at least one member of the Duke coaching staff.

The Sixers will play 3 games in Salt Lake City and then go to Las Vegas.

 

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Some injury notices about the Sixers' Jared McCain and the Spurs' #2 pick Dylan Harper from the Bluesky platform (can't properly embed).

Gina Mizell, Philadelphia Inquirer:

Gina Mizell (@ginamizell.bsky.social)

Jared McCain is not going to be on the summer league roster, as he continues to recover from his knee surgery. Still a good chance he travels to Vegas/SLC to be around the team, however.

bsky.app

Gina Mizell (@ginamizell.bsky.social)

Case in point: McCain is out here at the end of the summer league team’s first practice. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

bsky.app

Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News:

Tom Orsborn (@tomorsborn.bsky.social)

Dylan Harper will travel with the team to San Francisco for the California Classic but will not play due to a “minor groin issue,” a Spurs spokesperson said. The club is hopeful he will play in Vegas.

bsky.app

Tom Orsborn (@tomorsborn.bsky.social)

Spurs Summer League coach Mike Noyes on Dylan Harper's groin issue: "It's minor, so he's doing OK. He's been on the court."

bsky.app

 

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This is an early announcement for a team that doesn't play in Salt Lake City or San Francisco this weekend. Still, it seems fitting that the Toronto Raptors would release a Summer League roster on July 2, the same day that the film Jurassic World: Rebirth arrives in theaters.



After my Eva Mendes/Miami Heat roster, you probably expected a gun-toting Scarlett Johansson as the background image here. Sorry to disappoint.

On draft night, lip readers had a fun moment watching Collin Murray-Boyles react to getting selected by Toronto with the #9 pick. Hard to blame him; he doesn't really fit the dribble-pass-shoot archetype that head coach Darko Rajaković emphasizes. He's a more than decent passer -- I've heard vague comparisons to Draymond Green -- but his high turnovers and low shooting stats suggest he still has 2/3 of the way to go.

Murray-Boyles (South Carolina) and 2nd rounder Alijah Martin (Florida) are the draws here. They'll make their pro debuts, as will the undrafted Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), Clifford Omoruyi (Alabama), and a pair of mid-major players from March Madness, Tyson Degenhart (Boise State) and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (UC San Diego). Hepburn and G Leaguer Jarkel Joiner (NC State) represent the ACC.

 

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The Orlando Magic have been using the same tired graphics for years now. I was bored, so I added a Hidden Mickey.


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Wendell Moore Jr was on a two-way contract with Charlotte since February, but appears to be a free agent now. I believe that, as a fourth-year player, he is no longer eligible for another two-way deal, so he'll have to make a roster to be in the NBA. Moore has been a coach's dream at Summer League; he'll play the 1-4 positions, a different one each game, and fit in just fine. But I don't know if Orlando is the place to stand out because they always bring a ton of players to Las Vegas, and this year's group of 20 is no exception.

The Magic drafted Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, and signed three undrafted free agents from the ACC: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (NC State), Lynn Kidd (Miami), and Lance Terry (Georgia Tech). Then there's former Wake player Alondes Williams, also a fourth-year pro.

 

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The new darlings of the NBA Draft -- the Charlotte Hornets?!? -- have unveiled their roster for summer play.



I remain skeptical, but with draft picks Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, I'll be watching. In addition to the Duke guys, the ACC is represented by James Banks III (Georgia Tech), PJ Hall (Clemson), and MJ Walker Jr (Florida State).

Let's hope their gametime decisions are better than their new fashion choices. Apparently, you can take the Jordan out of the franchise, but not the Jordan Brand.

 

[Indoor66]

The new darlings of the NBA Draft -- the Charlotte Hornets?!? -- have unveiled their roster for summer play.

View attachment 20281

I remain skeptical, but with draft picks Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, I'll be watching. In addition to the Duke guys, the ACC is represented by James Banks III (Georgia Tech), PJ Hall (Clemson), and MJ Walker Jr (Florida State).

Let's hope their gametime decisions are better than their new fashion choices. Apparently, you can take the Jordan out of the franchise, but not the Jordan Brand.

View attachment 20283

Uuuggggly

 

[bundabergdevil]

Uuuggggly

Kinda has coronavirus zombie movie vibes to me.

 

[Bike4Fun]

The Orlando Magic have been using the same tired graphics for years now. I was bored, so I added a Hidden Mickey.

View attachment 20280
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Wendell Moore Jr was on a two-way contract with Charlotte since February, but appears to be a free agent now. I believe that, as a fourth-year player, he is no longer eligible for another two-way deal, so he'll have to make a roster to be in the NBA. Moore has been a coach's dream at Summer League; he'll play the 1-4 positions, a different one each game, and fit in just fine. But I don't know if Orlando is the place to stand out because they always bring a ton of players to Las Vegas, and this year's group of 20 is no exception.

I thought Wendell could get a 2-way for 1 more year because he hasn’t complete four full seasons on a regular contract?

 

[JasonEvans]

I thought Wendell could get a 2-way for 1 more year because he hasn’t complete four full seasons on a regular contract?

You are correct. Wendell is entering his 4th year in the league and can sign a 2-way any time up until the end of this season. See more below --

Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contract

We explain who can sign a two-way contract, how much they pay, how two-way free agency works, and much more.

www.hoopsrumors.com

A player with fewer than four years of NBA experience can sign a two-way contract with a team. Because a player is credited with a year of service on the last day of a league year (ie. June 30), a player with three years of experience is eligible to sign a two-way contract at any time during his fourth NBA season. For instance, a player who is waived halfway through his fourth NBA season is still deemed to have three years of service and could sign a rest-of-season two-way contract.

As part of the 2023 CBA, the league and the players’ union agreed to implement what is informally known as the “Harry Giles rule.” Giles has been on an NBA roster for four seasons, but missed the entirety of his 2017/18 rookie year due to an injury, so he has only actually played in an NBA regular season game in three separate seasons.

The new rule will allow Giles – and any other player who has four years of NBA service but missed one or more of those seasons due to an injury – to sign a two-way contract, assuming the player meets the following criteria:

1. He has four years of NBA experience (ie. a player with five years of experience who missed two full seasons due to injuries would not be eligible).
2. He didn’t appear in any regular season or playoff games during his injury year.
3. During his injury year, he was on a team’s roster for the entire regular season.
4. He is signing a one-year two-way contract.

 

[da_devils]

looks like DJ Steward will be playing for the Lakers this SL. our old friend RJ Davis will be on the roster as well. actually think he is on a two-way.

 

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looks like DJ Steward will be playing for the Lakers this SL. our old friend RJ Davis will be on the roster as well. actually think he is on a two-way.

Thank you for the heads up. The Los Angeles Lakers shared a roster earlier this evening, for both the California Classic and Vegas Summer League.



Not only will DJ Steward be on the roster, but Lakers assistant coach Lindsey Harding will be the head coach for the games in Las Vegas. Also repping the ACC are undrafted free agent RJ Davis (UNC) and 3rd year pro Cole Swider (Syracuse). Villanova's Eric Dixon led the nation in scoring last season. Look for the sons of the NBA's LeBron James and Šarūnas Marčiulionis, and the brother of the WNBA's Angel Reese.

Missing from the roster is the Lakers' only 2025 draft pick, Adou Thiero. Dan Woike, who covers the team for The Athletic, says that Thiero is still recovering from a knee injury, but should be ready by this fall.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940515804367540705

 

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I remember it clearly. Around this time last year, I was standing in the back of a crowd at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, ignoring cute animals getting fed as I tried, with some difficulty, to post Minnesota's 2024 summer roster to DBR using my phone. Dedication!

Now, in front of a desktop computer at home, it's a lot easier. Presenting your Summer 2025 Minnesota Timberwolves:


(source)

I see recent 1st rounder Joan Beringer, but not his 2nd round buddy Rocco Zikarsky. What gives? I know that some international players have schedules that dip into the summer, but Zikarsky and the Brisbane Bullets went 12-17 and saw their season end in early February. And then there's this: Beringer and Zikarsky attended a Minnesota Lynx game over the weekend.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1939468065038627159

So he's definitely around, but maybe not physically ready? I came across a few sources who expected him to play in Summer League, but the late scratch suggests that he's not quite over the knee and ankle injuries that shortened his time in Brisbane, or that the Wolves brass aren't willing to take any chances.

Of those who will play for the Wolves this summer, there's a quintet of familiar former collegians: 2023 draft picks Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark, both from UCLA, and Connecticut's Tristen Newton, plus 2024 selections Rob Dillingham (Kentucky) and Terrence Shannon Jr (Illinois).

As I pointed out last year, over the sounds of happy sea otters, Jesse Edwards played 4 years at Syracuse, but spent his fifth at West Virginia. That means that the ACC officially cannot claim him or any other Summer Wolves, in 2024 or 2025.

 

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have revealed their Summer League roster.



The Cavs signed their #49 pick Tyrese Proctor on Tuesday. Details weren't provided, but Spotrac is saying that it's a 4-year deal worth almost $8.7 million. Just over $3.4 million of that total amount is guaranteed, and Proctor will be making an estimated $1.3 million in his rookie season.

The team has also said that Proctor will wear jersey #24. (That number was being used last season by 2024 first rounder Jaylon Tyson, but he'll be wearing #20 now. Not sure what prompted the change.) I haven't come across any images or video of an introductory press conference, with Proctor wearing or even holding up a jersey. The best I could do was find his jersey for sale at the Cavaliers Team Shop:



Aside from Proctor, Tyson sort of represents the ACC, having played for California in their last season with the PAC-12. Also ACC-adjacent are Norchad Omier and Kadin Shedrick, who played for Miami and Virginia before transferring to Baylor and Texas. This roster features them and recent #58 pick Saliou Niang, a Senegalese forward playing in Italy.

 

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It's an annual challenge that I silently issue to DBR's Windy City-based members: make me care about the Chicago Bulls this summer.



We'll start with 2025 draft picks Noa Essengue and Lachlan Olbrich, and 2024 pick Matas Buzelis. Local fans who pay attention to mock drafts might be excited that Essengue dropped from about #8 to the Bulls at #12, just as Buzelis dropped from about #5 to #11 last year. And I've mentioned more than once that Olbrich played for head coach Justin Tatum, Jayson's father, as the Illawarra Hawks beat Melbourne United to win the 2025 NBL title in Australia.

The undrafted rookies include Caleb Grill and Wooga Poplar, but if they were big enough draws, I would have watched more of Missouri and Villanova last season. (Poplar, who transferred from Miami to Villanova, is the closest thing this roster has to an ACC player.)

Then there's Josh Primo, who made his pro debut in 2021. To Duke fans, the premise is familiar: one-and-done player, age 18.5 years, gets picked in the lottery and becomes the youngest rookie in the NBA. But the similarities end there. Just 4 games into his 2nd season, he was waived by San Antonio after ESPN reported "multiple alleged instances of him exposing himself to women", including the Spurs' sports psychologist.

I don't know if I have a blanket policy when it comes to second chances, but (1) I believe privately-owned businesses can do what they want, keeping in mind that certain decisions can alienate their customers; and (2) this isn't Primo's second chance. It's his third or fourth; Basketball Reference lists his employment transactions, and he's been waived 3 times before his 22nd birthday.

July 29, 2021: Drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1st round (12th pick) of the 2021 NBA Draft.

August 11, 2021: Signed a multi-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

October 28, 2022: Waived by the San Antonio Spurs.

September 29, 2023: Signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.

September 29, 2023: Suspended by the league. (4-game suspension)

November 15, 2023: Converted from a two-way contract to a regular contract by the Los Angeles Clippers.

April 13, 2024: Waived by the Los Angeles Clippers.

October 3, 2024: Signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Chicago Bulls.

October 3, 2024: Waived by the Chicago Bulls.

That last one is mostly procedural: Primo got waived by the parent Bulls to then play for their G-League affiliate last season, but according to RealGM, it looks like became a free agent a few days later. So this seems like his fourth chance, but since the Bulls are his third franchise, I could accept the argument that it's still his third chance.

Primo was never prosecuted for those indecent exposure charges -- according to local TV station KSAT, the District Attorney said there was insufficient evidence -- so that 11-month limbo away from basketball was the extent of his punishment.

Well, okay. You won't find a person on DBR less interested in moralizing than me, but at the same time, based on the information I have, I feel disinclined to root for his comeback.