Usually, the NBA champion has little to look forward to in the Summer League. With low draft picks, they spent the two-week extravaganza rewatching playoff highlights on their way to the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Media members and NBA fans have seemingly changed their stance on the Brooklyn Nets drafting Egor Demin eighth-overall after his shooting performance at the NBA

W hile recent draft picks are always the main attraction at NBA summer league, this year it was some of the elder statesmen who made the biggest impression. Of course, history teaches us to take even our most extreme optimism with a grain of salt as success from summer league can prove to be fickle once the NBA regular season rolls around.

Charlotte’s lottery pick Kon Knueppel led the Hornets to a 6-0 record and the NBA 2K26 Summer League championship in Vegas.

Shannon played three strong games in Las Vegas and is set up to be an important bench piece for the Timberwolves this season.

Fresh off an NBA championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a couple of notable names on their roster. Ajay Mitchell was one as the 23-year-old was their best player. He was named to the 2025 Summer League Second Team.

Fresh off a productive run in summer league with the Magic, Jase Richardson pulled up to East Lansing to sit in on a practice at Michigan State.

A couple of weeks removed from playing in the NBA Finals, Mitchell entered the Summer League as a player who knew he was too good to be there. The 23-year-old was the Thunder's undisputed top scorer. He averaged over 20 points and constantly drove to the rim.

After being known as the guy who mistakenly scored on his basket, Reynolds II salvaged his Summer League experience with 16 points in garbage time. Besides that, he didn't do much else. He averaged 7.5 3-point attempts at Saint Joseph's.

David Jones-Garcia – All-Summer League first team breakout guard – has agreed on a two-way NBA contract with the San Antonio Spurs, agents Deirunas Visockas and Guillermo Bermejo of Gersh Sports tell ESPN. Jones-Garcia starred for the Spurs this month (22 PPG, 6 RPG, 53% on 3s).