Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Two NBA Summer League tournaments are wrapping up, with Las Vegas hosting the final showcase over the next two weeks.
- Several under-the-radar players are emerging as potential breakout stars, with one guard already leading in assists and another showing elite playmaking skills.
- The performances could reshape rookie trajectories and give teams clarity on depth chart battles before training camp.
I’m not sure what’s harder: Keeping up with the Summer League locations and schedules or following the players, which ones are playing and who the top ones are. Wow, I got confused just typing that. Nonetheless, post Fourth of July is reserved for the three NBA Summer League host sites. The California and Salt Lake City tournaments have just wrapped. The next two weeks are reserved for Las Vegas.
I’ll do some of the hard work for you and show you some of the names that are destined to break out in Vegas. Quite a few of these players have already turned heads and the rest are either first-year players or under the radar guys looking to make an impression just a few weeks removed from the NBA Draft.
Darius Acuff Jr., Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have largely been a disappointing franchise. One thing they can hang their hat on, though, is their ability to find the best guards in draft classes at times. Over the years they landed De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton – and have since traded each. Acuff is the next guard to make a name for himself with the Kings. This summer, Acuff is averaging 23.5 points in two games.
The problem with this is he’s been a volume shooter this summer so there is an asterisk next to his summer league debut. Shooting 33 percent from the field and averaging 24 shot attempts isn’t that great. He’s also shooting under 30 percent from deep. He’s a smaller guard so he needs to be an elite scorer, something he’ll work through his rookie year. That said, don’t sleep on him. He showed his potential at Arkansas and is once again proving why the Kings took him in the lottery.
Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
This shouldn’t be a surprise as the Memphis Grizzlies have invested all of their future into Cedrick Coward, GG Jackson and the rest of this re-envisioned core after Ja Morant’s exit. Coward is already making his presence known in the Salt Lake City Summer League games. He’s averaging 17 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games in Utah. Him being one of the stat leaders shouldn’t be surprising either. The Grizzlies need him to have a big leap this upcoming season.
Coward was in discussion for rookie of the year and now ahead of his second season can prove why the Memphis Grizzlies were focused on the youth of this team. This past season, Coward averaged just under 14 points with the Grizzlies. They need him to have a big summer not just to show that he’s ready to be part of this new core, but to show that he still has a lot of potential. One thing he needs to work on is his consistency beyond the 3-point arc. That will take time, but how he does this summer will go a long way to proving he was the right player to build around.
Zuby Ejiofor, Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have quietly built one of the best young cores, based on potential. Zuby Ejifor was a great pickup, not just on paper, but the way he’s playing in the Summer League. He’s the only player in the Salt Lake City Summer League games averaging double-digit rebounds. He’s averaging 13.5 points and 13 rebounds in two games. If he keeps this up, he could look like a steal of the NBA Draft.
One of the most underrated parts of his game is that he’s also averaging 1.5 steals per game. If he can develop into a true two-way player for Atlanta, that’s a win-win for the Hawks. They needed to build on last year’s playoff appearance and did a good job through the draft. If Ejiofor continues to develop through the summer, he’ll look like the perfect piece to pair with Jalen Johnson.
Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn Nets
Egor Dëmin was a lottery pick a year ago and now he’s looking exactly like the player the Brooklyn Nets should be building around … at least this summer. He’s averaging 23 points per game on 55.6 percent shooting while adding 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists. He has a year of experience so he should be one of the top players. Brooklyn wasn’t a team to watch last year, but so far this summer league, Dëmin is proving why they might be a must watch next year.
Just because he has a big summer doesn’t mean that’s going to immediately translate to the NBA in his second season. However, it does mean that if he’s showing he can have a bigger role in the summer, he could be ready for a bigger role in the league. He’ll be a sight to see in Vegas if he keeps this up in the California Classic.
Kingston Flemings, Atlanta Hawks
If you thought the Atlanta Hawks struck gold with Ejiofor, they might have one of the most exciting cores when you add Kingston Flemings into the mix. He’s been playing as good as Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer in the two Summer Leagues games he’s played in so far. Only Javon Small is averaging more assists than Flemings (seven) and Flemings is averaging the same as Peterson. You could see the playmaking at Houston, but it’s transitioning seamlessly into the Summer League.
Flemings is also averaging 13 points per game in two Summer League games. He hasn’t been a consistent shooter, but he’ll have time to grow as a scorer. The biggest positive for him is his 13 plus-minus in his first two Summer League games. When you can have that type of impact in the Summer League, that goes to show just how good of a guard you potentially could be in the NBA.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs don’t need a backup guard for now, but if Ja’Kobi Gillespie is any indication, he could be a depth guy for them down the road. If he continues to shine, he will absolutely be part of the Spurs as they resurrect their championship ways. He’s averaging just under 13 points per game, but the one thing that stands out is his playmaking, averaging six assists per game. He’s also been a defensive maestro, averaging 1.7 steals in two games played.
He signed a two-way contract so he has a lot to prove. He was a very streaky shooter and took a lot of shots at Tennessee. He can eventually work his way onto an NBA roster and the best way for him to do that is to continue to affect the game in more ways than scoring. Gillespie is a longshot on this list to break out and be a name that is recognizable even to the casual fan. But the potential is there and if he continues to impact the game in multiple ways, he won’t just turn heads in Vegas.
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