The 2024-25 NBA season ended with the Oklahoma City Thunder winning their first-ever title. The 2025 NBA Draft is also long gone, as teams around the league spent two days selecting rookies from all over the world. NBA Summer League is the first official instance where fans can watch the rookies and young players continue their transition into regular roles in the NBA.
This year, Summer League will be divided into three tournaments: the California Classic (July 5-8), the Salt Lake City Summer League (July 5-8), and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, from July 10 to July 20. The Las Vegas Summer League will feature all 30 teams in action.
Without further ado, here are some of the players worth watching across the three Summer League tournaments.
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks 
Who wouldn't want to watch Flagg's first game in the NBA? Even if it's Summer League, the former Duke standout seems destined for greatness and should be a dominant presence in a Summer League environment. Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range during his lone season at Duke.
Those numbers might not translate directly to the NBA right away. Still, he's one of the most hyped prospects in recent years, similar to the level of hype Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama were carrying before making their debuts in The Association. It's unclear what kind of role Flagg will have with
The 2024-25 NBA season ended with the Oklahoma City Thunder winning their first-ever title. The 2025 NBA Draft is also long gone, as teams around the league spent two days selecting rookies from all over the world. NBA Summer League is the first official instance where fans can watch the rookies and young players continue their transition into regular roles in the NBA.
This year, Summer League will be divided into three tournaments: the California Classic (July 5-8), the Salt Lake City Summer League (July 5-8), and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, from July 10 to July 20. The Las Vegas Summer League will feature all 30 teams in action.
Without further ado, here are some of the players worth watching across the three Summer League tournaments.
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Who wouldn't want to watch Flagg's first game in the NBA? Even if it's Summer League, the former Duke standout seems destined for greatness and should be a dominant presence in a Summer League environment. Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range during his lone season at Duke.
Those numbers might not translate directly to the NBA right away. Still, he's one of the most hyped prospects in recent years, similar to the level of hype Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama were carrying before making their debuts in The Association. It's unclear what kind of role Flagg will have with Dallas, and since he's pro-ready, he's not likely to see heavy minutes across all of Dallas' Summer League games. However, he'll be a must-watch every time he steps on the hardwood.
Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs 
Harper was the No. 2 pick in the draft after averaging 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals over 29 games in the 2024-25 college season for Rutgers. The positional fit remains a bit uncertain, as he spent most of his college career as a guard, but expect head coach Mitch Johnson to find a way to play Harper alongside De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. The Spurs believe the three players can coexist.
However, fans will have to wait to see Harper in action. The first-year guard has been sidelined for the California Classic, where the Spurs are scheduled to play three games, due to a groin injury. This means Harper's best chance to make his Summer League debut will come in Las Vegas, though the recovery of the groin injury will ultimately determine whether the star rookie will be able to step on the court or not. Expect San Antonio to be cautious with him, as Harper is expected to play a significant role for the Spurs right out of the gate in his rookie year.
Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz 
Bailey was Harper's teammate at Rutgers and was considered to be the second- or third-best player in this class, on the same level as Harper and slightly below Flagg. However, he slipped down to the No. 5 pick, beginning his career with the rebuilding Jazz. It remains to be seen what Bailey's role will be out of the gate, but he's a natural scorer and should find a way to get his points on a regular basis.
Plus, the fact that Bailey will play in an organization that's in the early stages of a rebuild means he'll have time to learn on the fly, similar to what happened with Alex Sarr last season in Washington. It's all about the fit with Bailey, but there's no doubt it'll be exciting to watch him play in Summer League. Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game with Rutgers during the 2024-25 campaign.
Khaman Maluach, Phoenix Suns 
Even though Flagg, Harper and Bailey were always considered the three best players in this year's class, Maluach has always been seen as one of the prospects with the most significant upside in the class. The South Sudan native struggled to adjust to life in the college ranks at first, but he improved massively as the campaign progressed. Maluach earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors after averaging 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game.
Maluach is a developmental project with a high floor given his defensive projections, but he's also expected to have some upside on the offensive side of the ball. At 7-foot-2, Maluach has the size and length to be an elite defender in the NBA, and his early steps in Summer League will be a good indicator to see how well -- and how quickly -- he can grow. Maluach can be an absolute stud in category-based leagues if he gets enough time in the NBA.
