Erik Reynolds scored in the wrong basket. Jaylen Clark tossed the ball off the backboard on what could have been a highlight reel but turned into an awkward layup. Danny Wolf boinked a pass off teammate Drew Timme’s head. A mic’d-up Liam McNeeley referred to one of the game officials as “Mr. Referee.” And Noa Essengue became an internet meme after being on the wrong end of a vicious dunk.
Welcome to NBA Summer League basketball. It’s a playground for entry-level basketball professionals to experiment and practice their craft. There were plenty of Shaqtin A Fool moments for sure. It was the kind of basketball game only hardcore hoopers would embrace.
It wasn’t all Shaqin A Fool moments in Vegas. There were some impressive moments, including walk-off, buzzer-beating 3-pointers by Jamaree Bouyea and Riley Minix.
The 26-year-old Bouyea was on a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, while the 24-year-old Minix was on a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs. They embody what the summer league is all about. It’s about second chances and competing for a contract.
Here are some key takeaways from all the action at the Las Vegas Summer League.
The NBA has a new Flagg-bearer
Cooper Flagg, forward, Dallas Mavericks — Flagg called his summer league debut “one of the worst games of his life.” If that’s Flagg’s worst game, then the league is in a heap of trouble. The top pick in the draft was a bit harsh in critiquing his overall performance because it wasn’t that bad.
It took one game for Flagg to figure out the NBA game. Two days after his debut, he faced the Spurs and Dylan Harper in a marquee matchup. Flagg didn’t disappoint as he dropped 31 points on the same number of shots (21) he took in his first game and made it look easy. He played 31 minutes and looked like a superstar. He commanded the stage like a rock star, and he understood the assignment. He made the proper adjustments on his shot, especially the 3-ball, and put together one of the best performances in the Vegas Summer League in front of a big crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center. He commanded the stage, met the moment, and lived up to the hype.
Flagg also looked a lot more comfortable running point. He was matched up against Carter Bryant, and he won more battles than he lost. Bryant’s sole job was to shadow Cooper all over the floor when he’s in there, and it took away his legs on offense as the Spurs’ rookie went 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. The Mavs saw enough of Flagg and shut him down after two games.
About What We Expected
Dylan Harper, guard, San Antonio Spurs — The No. 2 overall pick in the draft didn’t make his summer league debut until Day 3 of the Vegas summer league. It was worth the wait, especially for Spurs fans, who saw what the scouts saw when Harper hit the floor in Vegas. He looked every bit of the 6-6 frame he was listed at, and he played with remarkable poise for a young player. He’s deliberate with his moves and doesn’t get rushed. It will be interesting to see how Spurs coach Mitch Johnson will utilize Harper, given that the Spurs have a full house in the backcourt with DeAaron Fox and Stephon Castle.
Tre Johnson, guard, Washington Wizards — Tre Johnson is a professional bucker-getter with efficiency. In his debut, Johnson scored 18 points on 7-for-13 from the field and made three 3-pointers. The sixth overall pick followed that up with another strong showing, going 7-for-11 from the field and finishing with a team-high 21 points. The Wizards need help in several places, and Johnson will certainly help in scoring.
Collin Murray-Boyles, forward, Toronto Raptors — The Raptors were one of the best teams in the summer league, and Murray-Boyles was a big part of their success. Murray-Boyles, the ninth pick in the draft, brought the same type of defensive intensity he displayed at South Carolina to the summer league, especially on the defensive end. CMB handled the speed and physicality of the NBA game like a seasoned pro. He looks like he can immediately play in a regular NBA game.
Derik Queen, forward, New Orleans Pelicans — Flagg’s former high school teammate at Montverde Academy (Fla.) appeared nervous in his first game. The 13th overall pick couldn’t get into any type of rhythm early against the Timberwolves. Turnovers were an issue as he committed seven turnovers, five of them coming in the first half. He lost the ball while bringing the ball up. He lost the ball while trying to make a spin move. Once he settled in, he played better, finishing his debut with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Queen put up a double-double in his first three games and flashed an ability to be a hub on offense. He’s a capable ball handler as a power forward, and Pels summer league head coach Corey Brewer didn’t hesitate to have Queen bring up the ball and initiate offense. Even though he shot just 43.8% from the field, he did average a double (14 and 11).
Exceeded Expectations
Joan Beringer, center, Minnesota Timberwolves — Beringer made his mark 10 minutes into his pro debut while going up against New Orleans Pelicans second-year pro Yves Missi. Beringer, the 17th pick in the draft, finished with a then-record seven blocks, had eight rebounds, and was 5-for-6 from the field (all in the paint). The 18-year-old, 6-11 Frenchman, who played professionally in Slovenia this past season and won the Slovenian Cup, showcased an ability to run the floor and rebound in traffic, but the most impressive part about his game was his ability to protect the rim. He had two blocks on the Pels’ first possession of the game, including one against Jeremiah Fears. “He’s very active, but he doesn’t waste any motion,” T-Wolves coach Chris Finch said about Beringer, who only started playing basketball in 2021. The sky is the limit for him, and the T-Wolves may have found a diamond in the rough.
Liam McNeeley, forward, Charlotte Hornets — When he’s not chopping it up with referees, McNeeley is chopping down defenders with an array of NBA-level shot creation and playmaking. The former UConn standout displayed an ability to splash 3-pointers (3-for-5 in his debut) as well as put the ball on the floor and score off the bounce. He knows how to use his 6-8 frame to create space and absorb contact, as he went to the line five times. McNeeley looked comfortable in an NBA setting, even with being mic’d up. Part of being an NBA player is dealing with distractions. The 29th pick in the draft appeared relaxed and wasn’t fazed at all by the extra attention. That bodes well for him going forward.
Nique Clifford, forward, Sacramento Kings — Clifford, the 24th pick in the draft, was the among all the 3-&-D wings in the summer league. He averaged 18-6-5 in 27 minutes of action, shot 58.3% from the field, and 52.9% from 3-point range. He is 23 and looks every bit of an older rookie, but he is a good fit for the Kings. He stays in his lane and understands what is required of him. He was easily one of the standouts of the summer league.
Yang Hansen, center, Portland Trail Blazers — From the moment he set foot on the floor, the 20-year-old center from China was an instant summer league favorite. He showcased nifty ball handling and passing, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd. He moves so well that sometimes you forget that he’s a 7-footer. Yang wasn’t perfect and admitted his conditioning needed to be better, but his court awareness and soft hands are elite. The fans love him, and his teammates love him. He’s got a likable personality.
Yang and fellow rookie Caleb Love built up a nice chemistry, playing off each other and doing a lot of non-verbal communicating. Yang is far from a finished product, but he displayed Jokic-like dexterity at the high post. Yang was easily the best passing big in the summer league. He was directing traffic, which is impressive for a rookie still learning NBA terminology. Give credit to general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups for taking a big swing in drafting Yang. The bold move could have a big payoff. It’s too early to tell if Yang will be the next Bill Walton, but the Blazers are certainly going to be a popular team in China. Blazers will add 680 million more followers this season.
Work In Progress
Jeremiah Fears, guard, New Orleans Pelicans — The seventh pick in the draft flashed some of the skills that made him an electrifying prospect coming out of Oklahoma. But he also flashed some concerning habits. There were times when Fears played too much Me-Ball, which resulted in a ton of turnovers and bad shots. He hunted for his shots and lacked court awareness.
In a game against the Lakers, he forced the issue a lot. The me-ball approach led to 5-for-21 shooting (23%) and zero assists. For a point guard not to have an assist in a game is wild. On several occasions, Fears drove the paint without a clear plan and got stuffed at the rim. His worst outing came against the Blazers, where he instigated a dustup with Sidy Cissoko that resulted in ejections. Fear is only 18, and it showed. He has some work to do in terms of being more mature and acting more professional.
Khaman Maluach, center, Phoenix Suns — If there’s a definition of a “work in progress” player in summer league, it’s Maluach. The size is undeniable. He’s every bit of the 7-1, 250-pound frame he came in at. But the basketball skills are lacking. Jordan Ott and the Phoenix Suns coaching staff have some work ahead of them in developing Maluach into a starting NBA center. Maluach has to clean up a lot of things, especially shot selection. He has to understand what his strengths are and amplify them. He doesn’t have the necessary feel for the game yet, and all his warts showed up in his matchup against second-year pro Alex Sarr. Maluach couldn’t get into rhythm and, for some odd reason, fell in love with the 3-point shot. He took and missed two early 3-pointers in his debut, and one of them was heavily contested. Maluach played a decent game against Joan Beringer, playing him to a stalemate.
Kasparas Jakucionis, guard, Miami Heat — Jakucionis must love the rims in Las Vegas better than the rims in San Francisco. The 20th overall pick, who couldn’t make a 3-pointer at the California Classic, turned it around when he arrived in Vegas, earning praise from Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra for the way he responded following a rough start. Jakucionis said the NBA game style is “different,” and he’ll need to adjust to regain his footing. The Heat summer league coaching staff moved him off the ball on several occasions, so playing off-ball might be a better fit for him instead of point guard.
Dalton Knecht, guard, Los Angeles Lakers — The Lakers’ first-round pick in 2024 was having an up-and-down summer heading into Vegas, and the rims in Vegas weren’t kind to the former Tennessee shooting guard. In his first two games, he averaged 11.5 points and shot an atrocious 29% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range. The 3-point shot is supposed to be his specialty, and he couldn’t check that box. Bronny James had a better summer league than Knecht, which tells you everything about Dalton’s summer. If Knecht is going to be part of the Lakers’ rotation, he’ll need to be more consistent.
Carter Bryant, forward, San Antonio Spurs — Despite playing a limited role at the University of Arizona, where he averaged just 6.5 points per game and started five games as a freshman, Bryant was selected 14th overall in the draft. So far, Bryant looks like a JAG. Just a guy. Bryant was underwhelming in the California Classic, and his struggles continued in Las Vegas, where he couldn’t find the rim (3-for-24 from 3-point) in three games. He finally got going in the fourth game, making 4-for-6 3-pointers and finishing with 16 points. He disappears for long stretches, which is what frustrated many Wildcat fans, and he has a hard ceiling. Bryant can still be an effective role player alongside Victor Wembanyama, but don’t expect anything more.
Biggest Loser
Noa Essengue, forward, Chicago Bulls — Noa Essengue became part of NBA Summer League lore but not in a good way. Pacers second-year pro Johnny Furphy authored the dunk of the Vegas Summer League when he threw down a soul-snatching slam on Essengue’s head. What made it worse for Essengue was his facial expression after getting dunked on, and it got widely shared on social media. This was not the way you wanted to start your NBA career.
Essengue finished with 21 points in that same game, but no one will remember his stat line because it was overshadowed by the “orgasm face” meme (props to Ryan Clark for the term). You know it’s bad when two “SportsCenter” anchors, Nicole Briscoe and Ryan Smith, could barely do the highlights without laughing. Essengue, 18, was the No. 12 overall pick. He’s French but played last season in the Bundesliga with Ben Saraf for Ratiopharm Ulm. He skipped one of the Bundesliga finals games to fly to New York City to attend the NBA draft. Ulm went on to lose to Bayern Munich. It’s going to take an unbelievable rookie campaign for the Bulls for Essengue to escape THE viral moment in Vegas.
Mixed Reviews For Nets’ First-Rounders
Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf, four of the five first-round picks by the Nets, all took part in the Vegas summer league. And not surprisingly, the group needed more time to develop.
Demin, the eighth overall pick, looked the most NBA-ready. Demin has great positional size (6-8) for a guard and plays with a good amount of confidence. The biggest question mark for Demin was his 3-point shooting, but he quickly answered it by knocking down four threes in his second summer league game, and then swished three clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game against Orlando for the Nets’ only win in summer league.
Wolf (27th pick) couldn’t find his shot, but he contributed in other ways, such as rebounding and playmaking. He is comfortable handling the ball at 6-11, which makes him a candidate for multiple actions at the high post or wing. Wolf played his best game against Orlando (18 points), taking advantage of the absence of Drew Timme.
Traore (19th pick) showed an ability to blow by defenders, but couldn’t consistently finish at the rim. The same can be said about Saraf (26th pick), who played well in the German Bundesliga, helping Ratiopharm Ulm reach the finals, but the NBA is several notches higher than the Bundesliga.
The Nets would be foolish to play all their rookies this upcoming season, so we could see Traore and Saraf playing in the G League.
Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net. Follow and subscribe to his YouTube channel at @onemanfastbreak1.