Welcome to the Las Vegas Summer League, Where the NBA Meets, Greets and Parties

If you're wondering where your favorite NBA athlete will be this month, it's Las Vegas. One of the hottest places in the summer sizzles even away from the sun during NBA Summer League, where the biggest names from the draft get their first opportunity to showcase their skills, and the biggest names in the league mingle in what has become the largest offseason party in the NBA.

"It's Vegas. Vegas is always a fun place to be at and be a part of," Los Angeles Clippers forward Tobias Harris says. He credits his summer-league success in 2012, when he averaged 20.8 points and 7.0 rebounds with the Bucks, to avoiding the casino halls and clubs. Those vices are best saved for when you're not playing, although the temptation is strong.

The night before his final game, Harris vividly remembers being asked to finally experience a night out in Vegas. But he couldn't bring himself to step out and potentially miss an opportunity to shine on the court the next day.

"Coming into Vegas Summer League, I was out to prove myself," Harris, the 19th overall pick in 2011, says. "I had a chip on my shoulder because people didn't know I could play. That was my whole approach."

Now that he no longer participates in the games, Harris says summer league has produced opportunities to build team chemistry and for veterans to meet the rookies playing for their teams.

"Some teams have a lot of their guys come and work out, watch the young guys play, take some of the rookies out," Harris says. "It's like an introduction into the league."

It's also a time when some veterans will arrive a little early before sticking around for the Team USA training camp every four years, including this summer. Four years ago, it produced Harris' favorite Vegas story.

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He was on the roulette table with his friend when Russell Westbrook walked up and asked, "What game is this?" As Harris and his friend explained the rules of roulette, Westbrook grew skeptical that people can win money on a game where a ball spins around on a wheel and randomly lands on one of 38 different numbers.

"Man, I've got a $500 chip in my hand right now," Westbrook told Harris and his friend, who recommended that he place the chip on his jersey number, zero. If it hit, at 35-1 odds, Westbrook would win $17,500. Westbrook wrestled with the decision, ultimately deciding against it.

"He's like, 'Man, I don't trust this game,'" Harris recalls. "So the roulette guy spins the wheel. The ball is spinning around, and bam, it hits zero. Russ looks at both of us, and he just screams, 'F--k!' He runs down the hall and runs away.

"Every time I see him, I go, 'Dang, you could've had $17,500,' and he always smiles, saying, 'Ah, stop bringing it up!' That's a story I'll never forget, and I would've taken my commission from that."

There are moments made behind the scenes, but also on the court. As more games are televised nationally, NBA fans gravitate toward any prominent players in attendance.

It's the only place where LeBron James can casually sit courtside to watch Lonzo Ball drop 36 points, fueling speculation he might sign with the Lakers to play with Ball—and it comes to fruition one year later.

"Lonzo and LeBron? Come on, man!" LaVar Ball told ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk after the game. "That's real deal. You don't want to give him the best player in the world. You don't want to give Lonzo the best player in the world and don't get no championship? Shoot."

It's also where we fans find ourselves caring as D'Angelo Russell and T.J. McConnell trade baskets during the final 15 seconds of a game in 2016, setting up a Russell game-winning shot and an epic postgame interview.

"I played like s--t," Russell said before being reminded that he was on live television.

It was probably the 2015 No. 2 overall pick's best highlight during his brief tenure with the Lakers, who traded him to the Brooklyn Nets last offseason.

While the after-hours options may be the drawing card for some veterans, the games provide a rallying point for all and a place to take in the NBA's Las Vegas show, starring the league's next generation. As with any performance, the takes are voluminous. With first-round picks often made the focal point of each team's offense in Las Vegas, the games are designed in a way in which top rookies should thrive. When they don't, it's a cause for concern.

Fans are quick to label rookies as busts after a few summer-league games, as they did with Ball during his disappointing start. He shot 2-of-15 from the floor, including 1-of-11 from three, in his first game.

Ball turned it around to produce the first triple-double in a summer-league game since 2008, average a summer league-record 9.3 assists and earn MVP honors with 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds.

"If you're really not able to produce in that type of setting, it could discourage a lot of people," Harris says. "They're running every single play for you, so I can see why people have that type of approach. But at the end of the day, these guys get drafted at, like, 18 years old. I never think you can write someone off that early. There's a big difference between somebody writing someone off and somebody not knowing what their role is. Somebody might not be a good shooter or offensive player, but he's a guy that can fill a role on any team. A lot of it is predicated on the perception of what type of person they're looking for."

Now it's up to Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and the rest of this talented rookie class to display their abilities on the court, the fans to enjoy the courtside sightings and the players to create lifetime memories that only Vegas can provide.

"Stay off the tables," Harris says. "That's all I'm going to say."