NBA Summer League: Why Every NBA Fan Should Go to Las Vegas Summer League

The NBA Summer League is unlike any other event in professional sports.

It's like a mix of the closeness of NFL training camp with the competitiveness of preseason games. Sure, some of the players are either rookies or people who have little chance of making an NBA roster, but that doesn't keep it from being good, exciting basketball.

Yesterday was my first time at a summer league game and I left incredibly satisfied and impressed. The level of competition was great, it was cheap and, most importantly, I got a real feel for what players are like in real life, instead of just on the court.

In just one day, I was able to watch the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth picks in the year's draft play, as well as several others who were in the first round.

Other second-year players like Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo played and looked much more comfortable in the games.

The most impressive player was easily Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who hurt himself very early in the game but still managed to put up 18 points and eight rebounds while making it look easy.

John Jenkins also lit up the first game and outplayed No. 3 pick Bradley Beal, who seemed to disappoint the Wizards fans in the gym.

The price to go to the games was also great. It cost around $25 to watch four games, which ended up taking about eight hours.

It's also nice because NBA Summer League is held in Las Vegas, Nev. While I was already in Vegas for the USA Olympic game (which was equally awesome, but comes around less often), who doesn't want an excuse to visit Vegas for a few days?

Easily the best part of the NBA Summer League is being able to see NBA players acting naturally. I saw Kemba Walker playfully jabbing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in their huddle, because they were only about 10 feet away from me.

On the other side of the court, Kyrie Irving sat with his friends and joked around, as did Steve Kerr and Chris Webber. Two rows behind me sat Trevor Ariza, who was watching his new team play, and I had a short conversation with Washington Wizards player Chris Singleton.

All in all, the NBA Summer League is an incredible, unique experience. I recommend any NBA fan, serious or not, to try and go at least once. It is definitely worth the time and money.