The NBA Summer League wrapped up on Monday night with the Miami Heat defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 120-118 in overtime to win the summer league championship in Las Vegas.
Josh Christopher, a veteran of two NBA seasons who played entirely in the G-League last season, was named Summer League Championship Game MVP, while second-year player Jalen Wilson was awarded the Summer League MVP.
No. 1 pick: Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks: The top pick suited up in just two games before a quad injury sidelined him, and he averaged 14.5 points on inefficient shooting, knocking down just 39.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, 25 percent of his three-pointers and 42.9 percent of his free-throw attempts. He certainly didn’t hesitate to shoot from deep, as his 8.0 three-point attempts per game were topped by just five other summer leaguers. Risacher did add 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, with just one turnover averaged, but it appears he’ll need an adjustment period to the longer three-point distance in the NBA compared to Europe.
No. 2 pick: Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards: Speaking of struggling with shots, Sarr shot just nine of 47 (19.1 percent) from the field and two of 17 (11.8 percent) from downtown. He knocked down under 30 percent of his three-point attempts last season with Australia’s pro league, so shooting was a known weakness for Sarr entering the NBA. However, the seven-footer displayed why he was the second overall pick with both his playmaking (3.3 assists) and his work on the defensive end, averaging 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, which was the fourth-most in the Vegas Summer League.
No. 3 pick: Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets: Last year’s SEC Rookie of the Year at Kentucky picked up where he left off, averaging 20 points on an efficient 50 percent shooting. Sheppard was one of the most complete players in the summer circuit as he was one of two players–and the only rookie–to average at least 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. But he also had a nine-turnover game and averaged 4.8 turnovers over his four games, which was the most among all rookies.
No. 4 pick: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs: The UConn champion played just one game in Vegas before a wrist sprain sidelined him, but he left a great impression on the Spurs’ brass and fans. He had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists in a matchup against college teammate, Donovan Clingan, and Portland. He did commit five turnovers in his lone Las Vegas outing, but that wasn’t much of an issue in college as he had just one game with more than three turnovers in all of last year.
No. 5 pick: Ron Holland, Detroit Pistons: Holland was the top pick from the G-League Ignite, where he averaged 18.5 points last season. His summer league average was nearly the same, at 18.8 points. He also displayed both the same strengths and weaknesses with the G-League and summer league, shooting under 25 percent on three-pointers with both but averaging at least a steal and a block per game with each as well.
No. 6 pick: Tidjane Salaun, Charlotte Hornets: Playing in three of Charlotte’s five Las Vegas Summer League contests, the 18-year-old – the second-youngest player drafted – more than held his own. He averaged 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in under 20 minutes per game. Though, like many on this list, Salaun struggled with his shot, going one of 10 (10 percent) from beyond the arc after hitting 32.9 percent of those shots in France’s pro league a year ago.
No. 7 pick: Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers: The two-time national champion showed there’s still a place for seven-footers in the pros. He led the Las Vegas Summer League with both 12.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks across four games. Interestingly, Clingan has added a three-point shot to his repertoire, albeit not to positive early returns. After attempting nine three-pointers during his two-year college career, Clingan launched 13 three-pointers in summer league, knocking down three of them (23.1 percent).
No. 8 pick: Rob Dillingham, Minnesota Timberwolves: The former Kentucky Wildcat was known as a scorer during his one year in Lexington, Ky., but he displayed his playmaking skills in Vegas. Dillingham’s 13.6 points were merely a subplot to his 7.6 assists being the main story. That’s nearly twice as many assists as he averaged in college (3.9), and Dillingham ended his summer league experience with a standout 25-point, 12-assist game.
No. 9 pick: Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies: Due to an ankle sprain, Edey logged just nine minutes in the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League. Fortunately, Memphis participated in the Salt Lake City Summer League, which preceded Vegas, and Edey got in a full game in Utah. He looked every bit like a two-time National Player of the Year with 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in 34 minutes. Interestingly, Edey, who led the NCAA in free throw attempts last season, averaging an attempt every 2.9 minutes he was on the court, didn’t have a single trip to the charity stripe across his 42 summer league minutes.
No. 10 pick: Cody Williams, Utah Jazz: With three games in Salt Lake and then another four in Las Vegas, you could observe the progress in Williams’ play. He averaged 5.0 points on just 26 percent shooting in Utah before putting up 15.0 points on 54.8 percent shooting in Nevada. Despite the improvement, Williams won’t get bragging rights over his older brother, Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who averaged 11.7 points over his 2022 Summer League experience, just edging out Cody’s 10.7 points.
