Grading Every NBA Team's Top Rookies at 2025 Las Vegas Summer League
Farewell, 2025 NBA Summer League basketball. Hello, sweeping conclusions drawn from tiny sample sizes.
Status reports coming out of Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and the California Classic must all be couched with caveats. There is a tendency to overanalyze and overreact, an expectation that we figure out how to make these games, these individual performances, mean something profound.
This batch of report cards will not shy away from the macro of it all. But grades will also be doled out on a “It’s only summer league, and these are only rookies” curve. Yes, stats and results will be cited. They just won’t be everything.
These evaluations are based more on the eye test, and how newbies look relative to what they’re supposed to be, after watching more summer-league basketball and film than personal development and entrepreneurial TikTokers would consider productive—or healthy.
Grades will be handed out relative to expectations, which are shaped heavily by prior scouting reports and draft slots. Anything in the “C” range indicates average or better. Craft your outrage accordingly.
The number of rooks spotlighted for each team will vary. Every first-round pick who suited up will receive a grade. Second-rounders will be prioritized for teams without a top-30 selection. For squads without any drafted rookies whatsoever, we'll default to the newbie who is either most intriguing, played the most or both.
Atlanta Hawks
1 of 30
Asa Newell (No. 23): A-
The Atlanta Hawks’ offseason continues to look divine. Newell showed every bit of the offensive promise that makes him so tantalizing. He can run the floor, catch the ball in traffic and decision-make from short-roll territory. The on-ball offense isn’t especially artful, but his spatial awareness is, and he won’t need to create for himself on a team with Trae Young and Jalen Johnson.
Questions remain about whether he can or should play beside another big. He doesn’t have the handle for a wing yet isn’t quite strong or imposing enough on defense to soak up reps as the 5.
Outside shooting will be the swing skill. If Vegas is any indication, he’s on the right track. Newell capably stretched defenses from the corners, and the quality of his looks should only improve catching passes from Young.
Right now, he’s coming across as a better-defending John Collins and better-shooting, less-fluid-on-ball Marvin Bagley hybrid. And just so we’re clear: That’s a compliment.
Boston Celtics
2 of 30
Hugo González (No. 28): C-
Before you cringe at González’s shooting slashes, just remember he was selected near the end of the first round, and more importantly, thrust into on-ball reps he wasn’t used to seeing with Real Madrid.
The turnovers are no surprise—and minimally concerning. His willingness to move the ball even as a connector, not just an initiator, is encouraging. Ditto for the way he runs the floor, keeps his head up in transition and goes after rebounds. The “high-motor” billing is painfully rote, but in this case, it’s also spot-on.
Shots nevertheless need to fall. González has weird takeoff points when faced with traffic but also missed a smattering of wide-open floaters, bunnies at the basket and makeable threes.
Time is on his side. It’s just hard to envision what his role at the NBA level could be if his scoring package and efficiency doesn’t even out.
Brooklyn Nets
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Egor Demin (No. 8): B
Demin did not turn heads during summer-league play because of his floor-general wizardry—which only makes him more appealing. The Brooklyn Nets used him extensively off the ball, and he registered as a real threat to knock down jumpers.
Though Demin must figure out how to touch the paint in a hybrid role, the outside range and positional malleability on defense are welcomed, if not surprise, onset developments. It nevertheless would have been nice to see him run more of the half-court offense.
Nolan Traoré (No. 19): B+
Erratic finishing inside the arc coupled with very little outside touch are concerns with which the Nets and Traoré must grapple with in the season(s) to come. But holy hell, talk about blinding on-ball speed.
At only 19 years old, Traoré could begin the 2025-26 campaign as Brooklyn’s best advantage creator. Havoc ensues when he gets downhill—and not just for his own benefit. His drives are the vessels through which he table-sets for others. Surround him with enough complementary shooting, and his conversions at the cup and even from mid-range should stabilize.
Ben Saraf (No. 26): C+
Saraf is the quintessential example of how the eye test doesn’t always align with the results. A sub-40 true shooting percentage in Vegas can and should be cause for concern. Then again, there is an effortless fluidity to the way he moves both on and off the ball.
Yours truly is convinced he’ll be a knockdown motion shooter—no small feat for someone standing 6’8”. The creation is a different story. Saraf wields enviable on-ball balance, particularly when he’s changing directions. His guile alone should create advantages for others. It’s just not quite clear how often those advantages will come when his separation versus defenders is predicated almost exclusively on out-maneuvering them.
Danny Wolf (No. 27): C-
Wolf’s 18-point, four-assist performance versus the Orlando Magic on Jul. 16 showcased a lot of what the Nets see in him, and even during his choppier moments, the outside stroke seems worthwhile. But summer league has done little to clarify an otherwise opaque outlook.
Running point for Michigan, at 6’11”, lends itself to big-picture mystique. That type of usage won’t hold up for him in the pros. The handle is too loosey-goosey and going to result in turnovers. Wolf has the mid-post vision to get guys cutting around him, but isn’t strong or physical enough to warrant that kind of role, either. The poor free-throw shooting is just bizarre.
Charlotte Hornets
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Kon Knueppel (No. 4): B-
Concern ran rampant after Knueppel’s first summer-league game, in which he shot 1-of-8 from the floor, including 0-of-5 from deep, against the Utah Jazz. He then proceeded to answer the bell in his second appearance, going off for 16 points, 10 rebounds(!) and four assists, while nailing three of his five attempts from downtown.
Nobody should be fazed by the poor shooting performance in his debut. Knueppel’s outside touch is unimpeachable. It’s tougher to get a feel for how his playmaking will translate. His vision is terrific. He uses his eyes just as much as handle to get defenders off-kilter, and he’s a good reminder that maintaining your live dribble can be a cheat code.
Whether his limited athleticism and speed comes back to bite him will be a matter of course. But it gave way to some avoidable turnovers and rickety drives. The above-average grade is a reflection of his overall playmaking craft, the ankle injury that delayed his debut, and much more surprisingly, sturdier-than-expected defensive stands, including when forced to operate off the back of his feet.
Liam McNeeley (No. 29): A-
McNeeley could have exited summer league after missing all of his looks, and I’d still be sold on his utility relative to almost dropping out of the first round.
The comfort getting his shot off speaks for itself. He can run into long threes, fly off screens, catch on the move and navigate traffic inside the arc, attack closeouts and even uncork some from-scratch jumpers after beginning from dead stops.
McNeeley’s open-floor playmaking and opportunistic rebounding embodies the “I owe you an apology…I wasn’t really familiar with your game” meme for yours truly. With that said, we all need to monitor how his finishing and in-between touch progress against stiffer competition.
Chicago Bulls
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Noa Essengue (No. 9): C
The 19-year-old out of France seems as advertised after his summer-league run. His physical tools point to someone who will get by beelining towards the rim and drawing fouls until the rest of his game fleshes out. That’s a good thing.
Essengue provided a glimpse into what a fuller package looks like during his third game, pumping in 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including a 3-of-8 clip from distance. He looked at-home getting off his three-ball and showed more variance with his handle and two-point shot-making.
Offense is still very much a work-in-progress overall, as it is for almost any teenager. Essengue can be out of control going downhill and defaults to bail-out mid-range or contested layups when he gets into trouble.
The defense just as all over the place. He can be pesky when playing at full bore and flashed high-energy on the glass. He can also disappear from possessions or get caught playing catch-up after getting blown by.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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Tyrese Proctor (No. 49): B+
Proctor didn’t need to drop 35 points against the Sacramento Kings on Jul. 16 to validate his scoring package. He did so anyway.
Billed as a 6’5” combo guard, many have pegged him as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ replacement for Ty Jerome. That makes some sense. He is far more comfortable breaking down set defenses than Lonzo Ball, and his scoring aggression outstrips that of Craig Porter Jr.
Still, Proctor operates at a clip Jerome could never explore: warp speed. There is a distinct Donovan Mitchell-ian-but-more-chaotic vibe to his jitterbug cadence.
The off-the-dribble jumper looks good, even when it doesn’t go down, and even if he’s at times too hyper-focused on getting it off. His three-point touch is all over the place, but he’s shown he can stretch defenses away from the ball, making it easier to slot him beside other creators.
Playmaking may end up being his determining skill. If his hints at nifty pocket passes and lobs become more of the norm, he’ll have a real chance at carving out a regular role over time.
Dallas Mavericks
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Cooper Flagg (No. 1): B
Flagg's debut in Vegas was reminiscent of Victor Wembanyama's two years ago. People were left lamenting how poorly he performed, and yet, you could clearly see the skeleton of an eventually transcendent player through all the noise.
Anyone worried about his scoring prowess was treated to a 31-point reality check in his second (and final) Summer League tilt. Shooting 10-of-21 from the floor is hardly groundbreaking, but he unveiled just about everything in his arsenal: floor-running, lob-finishing, pull-up touch, three-point volume, driving and finishing, foul-drawing, et al.
Operating as a de facto point guard so often is clearly foreign to Flagg. His decision-making could be delayed, he looked gassed under the weight of primary-initiator volume, and his handle feels like it can't match his mental processing speed.
Not surprisingly, Flagg's defense is no-notes stuff. The frequency with which he fired jumpers is a positive, and he didn't look out of place on his pull-ups. His efficiency wasn't the greatest, but you can excuse that when he's at least attempting to make defenses pay for going under screens or simply sagging off him.
Denver Nuggets
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DaRon Holmes II (No. 22 in 2024): A
Holmes missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, so he meets rookie qualifications. Also, I just want to talk about him.
The 22-year-old's offense answers the question of "What if Nic Claxton didn't drive as often but had a hesitation dribble and could space the floor?" We shouldn't get too excited about Holmes banging in more than 40 percent of his threes in Vegas. Then again, his floor navigation to the corners and overall lack of hesitation off the catch (even when above the break) are nothing if not celebratory possibilities.
Color me intrigued by Holmes' defensive potential. At 6'9", he seems like he might be able to hold up in some conservative base schemes, but anchoring more aggressive coverages might be a challenge.
So, too, could the rebounding. Holmes put himself in better position on the defensive boards as the Vegas schedule progressed, but he will routinely give up space and size if he's manning the 5. Playing him alongside another big is on the table if threes are falling, but he doesn't have the lateral sharpness typically required to do it. Here's hoping Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman gives us some looks at a Holmes-Aaron Gordon frontline.
Curtis Jones (undrafted): B+
Jones has already parlayed his summer performance into a two-way with the Nuggets, and me oh my, can this kid score.
A 20-point detonation against the Toronto Raptors on Jul. 15 was the primary attraction of his summer-league performance. Rightfully so. But he validated his outside-shooting improvement by canning a bunch of threes in Vegas overall and on reasonable volume.
Some of his off-the-bounce plays were also electric. He doesn't have the size or strength to get all the way to the basket against set defenses on command, but he knows how to leverage his floater and is long enough, with a 6'8" wingspan, to make good on heavily contested layups just beyond the restricted area.
Detroit Pistons
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Chaz Lanier (No. 37): B+
Even after adding Duncan Robinson, the Detroit Pistons need more caps-lock SHOOTERS given [gestures wildly] everything that's happening with Malik Beasley. If Vegas is any indication, well, Ron Holland II would like to enter the chat, at least occasionally.
And so would Lanier.
Shots did not fall at an exceptionally high clip for the 23-year-old, but he got them up quickly, cleanly, off motion and under pressure. There are shades—shades—of Klay Thompson to his half-court relocation and transition trailing and mapping, as well as his pull-up twos.
Lanier's defense will not endear him to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, but he's the kind of supplementary offensive outlet who can open up things for everyone else even if he never touches the ball.
Golden State Warriors
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Alex Toohey (No. 52): D
Squint hard enough, and you can see the outline of Toohey’s do-it-all skill set breaking through the myriad clouds that have cast a pall over his summer league. He has finished a couple of slick shots around the hoop and proven pesky on defense in the passing lanes.
Still, shots eventually need to find nylon on a consistent basis. They never did for Toohey. He also seemed a few beats slow on the defensive end, particularly when tracking the ball. This might merely be evidence of him needing to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA, or it could portend that the Golden State Warriors didn’t nail the No. 52 pick the way they did with Quinten Post last year.
Will Richard (No. 56): C-
Richard sewed up a not-too-shabby grade by defending with energy through pretty much every one of his summer-league outings. He guards with the ruggedness of someone taller than 6’4” and will force turnovers without living in foul trouble or getting busted up away from the ball.
The 22-year-old’s offense is a separate matter. His best path to sticking at this level entails draining set threes, which he didn’t really do until Golden State’s Jul. 15 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Houston Rockets
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Adonis Arms (undrafted in 2022): B
Defense has seldom been a question for Arms, who went undrafted out of 2022 and has since spent time in the G-League and abroad. It still isn’t.
He is opportunistic in passing lanes, blanketing in one-on-one situations and strong enough to guard (slightly) up. Bumping him off course with screens is easier than it should be when he’s locked into an assignment on the move, but it’s a trade-off you live with given the overarching pressure he puts on offensive players.
Arms’ offense remains his Kryptonite. The jumper still cannot be trusted, and he runs into trouble when forced to change directions or having his drives cut off. His time with the Summer Rockets has featured more dynamic finishing off straighter-line attacks, a settled-down approach in transition and more overall awareness as a swing and kick-out passer. That might be just enough to get him a look in Houston—or elsewhere.
Indiana Pacers:
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Kam Jones (No. 38): B-
Jones’ shooting is just as up-and-down as promised. It took him two games before he made his first three. The self-creation stands out but can also be a crutch. He will settle for contested jumpers or resort to east-west detours that go nowhere when downhill openings are unavailable or cut off.
That ability to get downstream, particularly in transition and semi-transition, keeps intrigue alive. His drives are the vehicles through which his playmaking shines brightest, and he’s got a nose for tough finishes around the basket—with either hand.
Taelon Peter (No. 55): B+
Pretty much everything Peter does just…works. If he’s not playing in constant motion (his off-ball half-court floor navigation is intuitive), you can almost sense his brain still moving with that same ceaseless rhythm. He is an instinctual cutter, relatively patient ball-handler and expertly gets defenders looking (almost) anywhere other than where his live-dribble passes go.
With the exception of his performance in a Jul. 12 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Peter’s shooting never really popped. Given that was one of his most bankable skills during his final two collegiate seasons, this stands to be a footnote. There can also be some bizarre timing issues with his passes and handles that blow up possessions, but this feels like it can be chalked up to spotty summer-league chemistry.
Los Angeles Clippers
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Yanic Konan Niederhäuser (No. 30): C
After a couple of nondescript displays to start his time in Vegas, Konan Niederhäuser churned out an “I have arrived” performance during a Jul. 14 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The 22-year-old put up 10 points on a 5-of-9 shooting clip that featured a spackling of dunks, including this one in which he caught an unexpected pass in transition and used two dribbles to clear half the length of the floor:
This game provided a roadmap for Konan Niederhäuser on offense that doesn’t have to encompass exploring his three-point touch: Run the court like hell, and good things will happen. But his aggression waxed and waned, including as a screener, and he’s not the cleanest pass-catcher.
Konan Niederhäuser’s defensive disruption is already alluring. Inbounding the ball and making entry passes to his man is a recipe for offensive misadventure, and he delivered a shot-blocking clinic in his summer-league debut. The rebounding needs to be better than it was in Vegas. He was either too easy to gain position against or didn’t go up for the ball with enough urgency.
Fortunately, Konan Niederhäuser will get to develop under the wing of Ivica Zubac, one of the best in the business at blending finesse and brute force at both ends of the floor.
Los Angeles Lakers
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Arthur Kaluma (undrafted): C-
Kaluma laid the blueprint for sticking at the NBA level with his showing in a Jul. 12 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He hit two threes from the corners, ran the floor like he meant it and put down a dunk in transition.
The 23-year-old also racked up—*checks notes*—eight fouls. Which, yikes.
Whistles were not a recurring issue throughout his summer-league outing. And it’s easy to appreciate the times in which he gets beat or commits a foul because he’s attempting to press the ball or fight over screens. But he has a tendency to get caught off-footed, and to just sort of stumble into people when going for boards.
Expectations are non-existent for the wing who spent four years in college split between Creighton (freshman and sophomore years), Kansas State (junior) and Creighton (senior). But if you’re the Lakers, even in scattershot playing time, you’d have liked to see more consistency in his three-point volume and touch or overall offensive presence.
Memphis Grizzlies
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Javon Small (No. 48): B+
Small played for the Memphis Grizzlies on Jul. 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and then didn’t take the floor again until Jul. 17 versus the Atlanta Hawks. He was worth the wait.
The 22-year-old dropped 17 points against Atlanta to go along with five assists and five rebounds. His performance incorporated a little of everything: pull-ups and step-backs, an ability to get his floater, dimes in the pocket and on kick-outs, a decisive baseline drive, some off-ball movement—basically the works.
At 6’1”, Small’s utility can devolve quickly if his shot isn’t falling or the ball is forced out of his hands in the half-court. But his assist-to-turnover was killer for someone who spent so much time running the show in a summer-league environment.
Jahmai Mashack (No. 59): B+
Mashack almost didn’t get his own blurb following the return of Small. But it feels wrong to ignore someone who plays at the cross section of Flash and Substance.
The 23-year-old’s jumper came and went, and logging so much time on-ball upped the errancy factor. He still looked at-home pacing the offense in transition and coming around screens—real secondary-creator-type stuff.
His defense is as tenacious as ever, scaling to different player archetypes, including some wings. Both his ball pressure and help in driving lanes led to turnovers for opposing ball-handlers, and he contested jumpers and layups with a controlled abandon that juiced his block totals beyond the expected boundaries of a 6’3” guard.
Miami Heat
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Kasparas Jakučionis: D+
Jakučionis looked like he was headed for summer-league disaster following the California Classic, where he went 1-of-15 from the floor with six assists against 12 turnovers. He has since recalibrated for a couple inspiring performances in which you can see the vision of him as a lead ball-handler who marries flair with functionality.
The 19-year-old’s best outing came on Jul. 11 against the Atlanta Hawks, when he went off for 24 points and four assists on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-9 clip from the three. The ease with which he’s able to launch off-the-dribble jumpers over defenders teases all sorts of gaudy best-case outcomes, and he can be a brilliant live-dribble playmaker, the kind of floor general who passes players open and keeps them motivated to move away from the ball.
But so many of Jakučionis’ potential downsides were evident, too. He works incredibly hard just to get off mega-difficult shots he’s not yet hitting at a high clip—he finishes the summer having converted fewer than 25 percent of his threes—and can throw his bigs out of whack by overindexing on screen rejections.
Too many of his turnovers also feel preventable. There is having derring do and being laissez faire. Jakučionis often tilts toward the former, not taking nearly enough about his surroundings or the defenders in front of him into account. Make no bones about it, there is real upside here. But unless he’s going to unbottle defensive chops not revealed in summer league, there’s real “How do we use this guy?” potential, too.
Milwaukee Bucks
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Bogoljub Marković (No. 47): D
The theory of Marković makes a lot of sense on the Milwaukee Bucks: a stretch big who can slither through defenses away from the ball with the moves and touch to operate in the post, as well as the circular vision to facilitate from those spots.
There were moments in which the 20-year-old looked the part. He had a couple of tough finishes during a Jul. 18 loss to the Miami Heat, and in his best game of the summer against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jul. 13, he notched 14 points on just eight shots while moving well without the rock and tossing a couple of nice passes.
These flickers were invariably few and far between. Marković belched out some truly bad misses from beyond the arc, left Vegas with just as many turnovers as assists, spent too much time screening and defending with his hands and didn’t give ball-handlers enough breathing room on his (slow) rolls to the basket.
Minnesota Timberwolves
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Joan Beringer (No. 17): B
Someone who only started playing basketball within the last half-decade should be a much bigger project than Beringer is right now. For all his rawness on offense, for all the wrinkles that must be ironed out on defense, he sustained enough impactful stretches to prove he already belongs.
Granted, the 18-year-old did not have the tidiest ending to his summer-league festivities. He started picking up fouls en masse, and like many others with a more traditional big man’s skill set, his offensive utility could be muted for large swathes of time.
Beringer’s first game is enough to carry the torch of intrigue on its own. He finished his Jul. 10 debut against the New Orleans Pelicans with 11 points, eight rebounds and six(!) blocks, displaying a ton of defensive energy and just enough offensive instincts—a general motif that followed him through the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jul. 12 win over the Denver Nuggets.
At 6’11”, Beringer is liable to dunk, well, everything and anything. His positioning in the half-court when he’s not being used as a primary screener is a lob-tosser’s dream and sure to make him a nuisance on the offensive glass. He has cleaner hands on the catch than someone considered more of a blank slate, and while he isn’t revered for his range, he busted out a push shot and nailed a larger share of his free throws than he did during his time overseas.
There may not be that steep of a learning curve on defense. Beringer sent away and altogether deterred shots with his movement as the helper and a general paint protector, and he has the footwork to both hold up in space and slide down on drives, even when backpedaling.
New Orleans Pelicans
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Jeremiah Fears (No. 7): B
Fears receives bonus points for being the only lottery pick to play in every one of his team’s games. He also enjoys a healthy bump for being able to get downhill even inside the clunkiest of environments. That will come in handy with the big club. The New Orleans Pelicans will still field lineups with multiple non-shooters.
There is a haphazardness to Fears’ finishing around the basket. He looks the part of someone who will eventually be efficient from those areas, but his penchant for taking contested looks and occasionally awkward takeoff points are self-saboteurs. I’m not sure how much to ding him for his three-point shooting. His triples didn’t fall in Vegas (18.2 percent), but we knew his outside game was a limitation.
Turnovers are a bigger sticking point. Fears would have stockpiled more assists if the Summer Pelicans made more shots, but for someone with a critically acclaimed handle, he too frequently lacked directionality, electing instead to dribble straight into oncoming traffic. Someone in New Orleans must teach him how to throw passes to his big men, too.
Overall, the Pelicans should feel a little better about Fears after his Vegas stint. He didn’t disprove any of his weaknesses, but he proved that the nucleus of his game—the driving, finishing and foul-drawing—will translate even if he’s not plopped into lineups with pristine spacing.
Derik Queen (No. 13): B
The hits just keep on coming for Queen. He entered the summer destined to be judged against an unfair bar because of what the Pelicans gave up to get him (No. 23 and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder). He exited it with a left wrist injury that required surgery and won’t be re-evaluated for 12 weeks.
Impressions of Queen must be untethered from the opportunity cost of acquiring him. Once you do that, it’s so much easier to understand—and enjoy—the Pelicans’ vision for him.
The 20-year-old has real feel on the ball, with a good enough handle to attack from the outside in and the vision to throw passes from all over the floor, both on the move and from standstills. His offensive range is a question mark, but he has some feathery touch from short mid-range areas and can get up those shots working off a live dribble. And though he’s not ultra-physical, he already profiles as a double-double machine.
Sloppy play permeated all of Queen’s bright spots. Some of his (many) turnovers can be written off as a lack of reps alongside teammates. But the handle, while solid for someone his size, can skew too far out in front of him, and he throws a bunch of his passes a beat or two too late.
A 7-of-8 showing at the foul line in a Jul. 15 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers gives you hope for his perimeter touch, but he is every bit the non-spacing ground-bound big his detractors believe him to be. That isn’t the end of the world, even if it makes for a funky fit next to Zion Williamson. Both players know how to carve out opportunities for themselves and others in tight spaces. But Queen does need to get over his aversion to contact when going downhill, otherwise the development of an outside jumper will be more critical than it already is now.
New York Knicks
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Mohamed Diawara (No. 51): B-
With the exception of Kevin McCullar Jr., Diawara was the most intriguing New York Knicks player in Vegas. His size, length and activity across the defensive end allow him to be deployed against a variety of archetypes, and he has the awareness to track the ball while still taking away cutting lanes when guarding off shooters.
Diawara’s floor game is ahead of his overall range. The Knicks had him operating out of ball screens, after which he threw a few nice passes, and he’s got the handle to aggressively attack closeouts—including from the baseline.
Almost nothing about the 20-year-old is polished, though. His three-point shot doesn’t look hideous, but it seldom falls. The drives can be mesmerizing for someone standing 6’9”, but he doesn’t have a lot of counters when he gets bumped off straight lines.
This is very much a player whose skills need refining—the type of project the Knicks aren’t known to groom, but who's intriguing enough that you hope they’re willing to try.
Oklahoma City Thunder
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Nikola Topić (No. 12 in 2024): B+
A torn left ACL sidelined Topić for what would have been his rookie campaign, so he gets put under the summer-league microscope this year. He was worth the wait.
Topić drilled more than half of his shots only once through six appearances, and it was during his Salt Lake City debut. His movement away and to the ball is pretty good, and change-of-pace handles serve him well. But the timing and touch on his floaters left much to be desired, and he needs to inject more force into his finishes at the rim if he doesn't want so many of his point-blank looks swatted into oblivion.
The three-ball is shaky, as expected. He drilled a self-created bomb in a Jul. 12 win over the Indiana Pacers, but it was his only attempt of the game. He barely looked at the basket from deep over his final two contests.
Turnovers are eminently forgivable in summer league. They're even more so when you have Topić's usage. He probably needs to chill out with the one-handed bounce and swing passes, but he has the dump-offs and kick-outs down and (mostly) has the right idea on lobs. The defensive mobility was a pleasant surprise, particularly for someone coming off an ACL injury.
Brooks Barnhizer (No. 44): A-
It turns out Oklahoma City selected another gritty-as-hell perimeter defender with top-shelf basketball IQ, because of course it did.
Barnhizer brings a suffocating amount of on-ball pressure that can hold up across the entire floor and plays for strips both on and away from the rock like forced-turnovers are his primary life source. His aggression can mutate into overeagerness, but it by and large doesn't burn him. He committed more than three fouls in Vegas and Salt Lake City only once, and his summer-league steal rate would make even Alex Caruso double-take. He's also strong enough to do some low-man stuff in a pinch, a la Jalen Williams.
The 23-year-old's offensive package would be more terrifying if he could buy a three. He can't. A lot of his most open looks from deep seemed to fall short. Your move, Chip Engelland.
Yet, the balance of Barnhizer's portfolio is solid. He can get too cute with his handle when attacking the paint, but he has the control to navigate the half-court and the touch to drop in on-a-dime looks on the move or finish around the basket. And though the passing isn't quite on par with regular initiation, he's a certified ball-mover who can dish the more-than-occasional snazzy dime out of his live dribbles.
Orlando Magic
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Jase Richardson (No. 25): B+
Richardson's fusion of on-ball speed and balance almost makes you forget he stands only 6'1"—the factor that (likely) most drove his draft stock so late into the first round.
His ability to create separation with pure acceleration or sudden downshifting is bonkers, and the variance with which he uses them makes him tough to cover. He could be pulling back for a three, starting-then-stopping to throw up a mid-range J or taking you all the way to the basket, where he is unafraid of—and pretty deft at—releasing the ball early and high enough to get it up over much taller rim protectors.
This functional friction can make him a walking free throw. He averaged over eight charity-stripe attempts per 36 minutes in his (brief) summer-league cameos. The relative unpredictability helps his playmaking, too. Defenses already overreact to him on standstill catches, and he's more than willing to throw quick swing passes into the corner.
Additional pressure doesn't fluster him. He threw a first-quarter assist over a quasi-trap while facing the Toronto Raptors and clearing length at the basket translates to lofting passes that just get over longer defenders without spending so much time in the air they're liable to get picked off on the descent. And while none of us should pretend he'll be a defensive terror, he uses the same speed and force that is the bedrock of his offense to make his presence felt. Teams will still go after him, but overpowering him is far from a given.
Philadelphia 76ers
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V.J. Edgecombe (No. 3): B
Edgecombe made just two summer-league appearances—one in Salt Lake City, the other in Vegas—that were separated by 10 days while he recovered from a thumb injury. A combined 60 minutes(ish) of court time isn't a lot to go on, but the 19-year-old impressed with flashes of a more dynamic skill set than someone only along for the ride.
Curiosity should pique after watching the relative ease with which he could get to his spots in the half-court. Even after baking in with his left hand, including in open space, he had a poise about him in the lane that could wear out defenses.
When he turned on the jets, it was more like a calm-and-collected burst. And the passing instincts were pretty dope for someone not packaged as a playmaker. He shouldn't get nearly this much time on the ball with the grown-up Philadelphia 76ers, but it's good to know his creative depth is worth exploration if the opportunity (or need) presents itself.
Concern creeps him when viewing his performances through the lens of how he'll probably play in Philly. A 2-of-12 clip from three is unnerving. Edgecombe never found a groove whether it was off the dribble or on the catch. Attacking closeouts will get harder if he remains so topsy-turvy with the left hand, and if defenses don't feel the need to guard him all that closely from distance. While he reached his spots, the touch from mid-range and the bucket was inconsistent.
Better spacing in the regular season could go a long way for him. If it doesn't, Edgecombe can still turn the dial up running the floor and on the defensive end.
Phoenix Suns
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Khaman Maluach (No. 10): C-
Maluach looked equal parts gigantic and very much 18 years old through the lion’s share of his summer-league outings. He clearly knows how to leverage his size and length on defense but so often finds himself in tilted positions or just plain-old no-man’s land. His attempts at recovery can be admirable and, at times, successful. They are also a catalyst for foul trouble.
Defaulting to a screener and roller on offense will be Maluach’s bread and butter—at least early on. The initial returns aren’t great. His efficiency around the basket left much to be desired, and he’s noncommittal on many of his screens.
Playing alongside more seasoned table-setters will help him. (Related: The Phoenix Suns should bring back Chris Paul for the sake of…all their bigs). It’s too early to tell if there’s anything to Maluach’s three-point volume, but offering the chance to experiment is its own form of flexibility, and he did bang in two of his five attempts during a Jul. 16 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also opened up summer league with a little floor-game glimpse, attacking to his right before spinning into a left-handed hook shot.
Those flashes are everything—concrete evidence of his upside. But the peak-and-valley experience could become a little grating. It’ll be interesting to see how Phoenix handles his playing time if he’s unable to consistently deliver more happy-medium performances.
Portland Trail Blazers
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Yang Hansen (No. 16): A-
About Hansen being a reach with the 16th overall pick...He's not. The 20-year-old big man took Vegas by storm, ostensibly raising the bar with each possession, then proceeding to clear it almost every time.
Hansen's passing has already drawn comps to Nikola Jokić. That is beyond hyperbolic at this stage, but his vision is clearly top-tier. Teammates moved around on his catches, because they knew he'd find them. That's the right kind of infectious energy.
Tilting an extra body towards him in the slightest is going to get your defense burned. He also did a great job setting Marcin Gortat Light screens to create openings for the Portland Trail Blazers' ball-handlers, and his awareness of teammates out of view barely makes sense in a regular-season context, let alone during summer league.
At 7'1", Hansen showed three-point range (bank shots count!), connecting on four of his 12 attempts from downtown. The touch around the basket felt automatic at times, and he had zero qualms about putting the ball on the deck and attacking from the outside in.
The extent of his defensive ceiling remains a mystery, but he ran the floor well for someone unconventionally huge and didn't get carved up when backpedaling against ball-handlers in the half-court. However many blocks you expect him to rack up per minute, it's going to be more.
A lack of physicality is Hansen's biggest concern at the moment. His aggression on the boards went more than it came, and he'll have to play with more force if he's going to be more than a perimeter-oriented big on offense. Some of his rolls to and finishes at the basket suggest he's already capable of it, and he's bound to get stronger. It's just a matter of maintaining it more consistently.
Sacramento Kings
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Nique Clifford (No. 24): A
Clifford's efforts in Vegas did not just stand out. He was the best rookie, period.
Worries over whether his three-ball will translate after it came along later in his collegiate career remain. He drilled almost half of his attempts in Sin City, but that came on modest volume and was boosted by going a combined 6-of-7 from downtown against the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.
Still, the overall scoring arsenal passes the eye test with flying colors. The degree of difficulty on some of his treys was actually stupid. He hit a crossover step-back triple coming off a baseline hand-off against the Cleveland Cavaliers that's currently living rent-free in between my ears.
Clifford probably won't sponge up many point guard reps for the Sacramento Kings, but he maintains his live dribbles like one. And he showcased everything from tough-angled and driving finishes to turnaround Js and back-to-the-basket bandwidth.
This is also someone who clearly wants to defend the other team's best player. Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray should thank him accordingly.
Given some of his timely rebounds as well as passes, Clifford currently profiles as someone who will shape-shift to fill gaps and augment strengths. Even when judged against the "Older rookies are supposed to be good right away" trope, the 23-year-old has so far obliterated expectations.
San Antonio Spurs
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Dylan Harper (No. 2): B-
Efficiency by and large eluded Harper once he made his summer debut. He did little to assuage concerns about his long-range touch.
Yet, for someone dealing with a groin issue, he moved quite well both on and away from the ball. The downhill shiftiness and ability to draw contact shined—and should become even more of a boon in San Antonio Spurs’ spacier lineups.
Some of his live-dribble reads felt overly telegraphed, leading to turnovers. That will smooth out in time. The poise and overall control is more important, as are the big-time moments he delivered during an overtime thriller against the Brooklyn Nets.
Carter Bryant (No. 14): A-
Canning 20 percent of your triples through both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer Leagues should be a larger indictment of someone billed as a lottery-level three-and-D prospect. But Carter Bryant transcended his shaky outside clip with terrific defensive stands.
Standing 6’8”, with a wingspan approaching 7’0”, the 19-year-old somehow looks bigger and longer during live action. Other players have better lateral foot speed, but his capacity to envelop ball-handlers of all sizes is predicated on placement and anticipation.
Dribbling around him has already proven to be unsafe, and he sports the kind of shot-blocking instincts that will not just erase scoring opportunities, but force opponents to think twice about point-blank finishes at all. Just ask Cooper Flagg.
Toronto Raptors
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Collin Murray-Boyles (No. 9): B+
Prospects often assume roles during summer league they won't take on during the regular season anytime soon, if at all. This can be especially true for rookies repping a squad with immediate expectations.
It's not true for Murray-Boyles.
The Summer Raptors did a nice job tailoring his usage in a way that can feasibly spill over to the regular season. They did not saddle him with immense self-creation. On the contrary, it felt like he could go entire quarters without ever dribbling.
CMB instead feasted on movement, catches off screens, under-the-basket ingenuity (head-fakes, FTW) and the offensive glass. Most of his assists even came without taking many dribbles beforehand.
Whether the Raptors will have the spacing environment to optimize CMB is debatable. Stockpiling second units with floor-spacers around at least one of their primary ball-handlers should be the goal. If the rook's sub-25-percent clip from distance is any indication, none of that shooting will come from him, but that's not a revelatory flaw.
On another note: Victor Wembanyama in 2024 was the first rookie to make an All-Defense team since Tim Duncan in 1998. We may not have to wait that long for another new kid on the block to get a nod if Murray-Boyles plays enough.
His activity is exhausting to watch. He can cover so much ground on a single possession, switches and rotates seamlessly, and although he gets foul-happy, it's usually owed to handsiness when bringing extra pressure rather than in pursuance of counting stats—which is pretty awesome since he averaged 4.1 stocks per 36 minutes across his four summer-league games.
Utah Jazz
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Ace Bailey (No. 5): B+
Bailey was at his best through two summer-league performances when he played within the flow of the Utah Jazz offense. It's cool that he has the size and confidence to get off fadeaway baseline Js and off-the-dribble threes, but it's even more of a relief to know he will fan out to the corners (where he sort of generates some no-dip action) and is going to make himself heard on the offensive glass.
What turned out to be Bailey's final game of the summer was easily his best. He didn't get enough credit for his defensive energy and glass-crashing in his debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, but the 18-point, seven-rebound, three-assist outing he delivered versus the Memphis Grizzlies offered a snapshot of pretty much the entire package.
The 18-year-old has to show more as a passer. And he will need more dynamic modes of attack when he does go one-on-one. But it's hard to walk away from his brief summer-league stint feeling anything other than encouraged—in no small part because didn't commit a single turnover through two games, despite getting reps on-ball.
Walter Clayton Jr. (No. 18): A-
If there's one thing Clayton made clear through his four summer-league appearances, it's that he plans to inflate Utah's entertainment value by a factor of 1 trillion.
Draftniks weren't kidding when they noted he could get off any type of shot. At various points in Salt Lake City and one Vegas contest, he scored using gather and escape dribbles, curling around screens, snaking pick-and-rolls, getting defenders on his back hip and dribbling into runners, attacking right only to pivot left after picking up his dribble for a scoop shot—the list goes on.
Such a deep armory can invite overtly bad looks. Clayton had his share of those. But the off-ball movement lends itself to a more plug-and-play style. He won't hijack possessions with the big-boys club. He can get too cavalier with his handle and needs to look for his bigs more coming around screens. With the exception of one game, though, he wasn't really a turnover disaster, and he made some nice reads leading breaks and spraying the ball to shooters and trailing cutters.
Washington Wizards
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Tre Johnson (No. 6): A-
Two games is all Johnson needed to reinforce his value as perhaps the most complete scorer of this draft class. He converted nearly 70 percent of his twos and over 45 percent of his threes—efficiency that came amid a meld of shot types, at every level, both from-scratch and off the catch.
Johnson has never met an attempt he doesn't like, but only because he's capable of finding nylon from anywhere. The scoring acumen is beyond reproach. The overall process is a separate matter.
Scoring is Johnson's first, second and third option. It can lead to tons of over-dribbling and predictability that unravels an entire possession. He would do better to get off the ball more quickly in certain situations. His playmaking may never pop, but it can be better—especially out of his drives—if he ventures outside his staring-straight-ahead silo.
Will Riley (No. 21): A
After a relatively quiet performance in his debut, Riley brought the heat in his second (and final) game, tallying 16 points and six assists while going 5-of-6 from the floor, including 3-of-4 on treys.
It would be a massive stretch to trust his jumper now, after he hit under 33 percent of his threes at Illinois. But taking more than half his shots from distance is a nice sign, and one of his makes in the Washington Wizards' Jul. 13 win over the Brooklyn Nets came with him running off a pindown screen on a sideline-out-of-bounds play. It will be a game-changer for him and the Wiz if he can hit those shots on a consistent basis.
The 19-year-old also showed some spiffy decision-making on the ball in open space, both as a driver and passer. His handle doesn't seem like it'll hold up under more pressure, but as a tertiary option, he won't let the ball or the offense stick. And while I'm not going to say his number of hustle plays (tip-outs and trackdowns, mainly) emboldened Washington to buy out Marcus Smart, I'm not not saying it, either.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
