An Explanation of the NBA Summer League

If you’re a fan of the NBA but don’t know much about the summer games, look no further for an explanation of the NBA Summer League.

The NBA’s postseason Summer League is a tournament designed to highlight the skills of new players and close-to-retiring veterans, whether they’re drafted rookies or overseas pros. Either way, it’s a great opportunity for players to demonstrate their abilities and prove that they deserve contracts.

Depending on how well players do, they can receive anything from 10-day contracts within the regular season to full-year contracts. Past top performers in the Summer League include Damian Lilliard, Kyle Kuzma, and Donovan Mitchell, all of them important star players on their teams.

Photo credits – blog.sportiw.com

The NBA Summer League for all 30 teams was originally held in Orlando, Florida, but by 2018, all teams migrated over to Las Vegas, Nevada to play in a tournament hosted by MGM Resorts. In addition to that league, separate smaller tournaments are held in Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City Classic) and San Francisco, California (California Classic).

Salt Lake City Classic Participants:

  • Utah Jazz
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Oklahoma City Thunder

California Classic Participants:

  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Sacramento Kings
  • Miami Heat
  • Golden State Warriors
Photo Credits – vnexplorer.net

The main tournament will be held starting from July 7. Across the span of 10 days, all teams will participate in 4 games. The 2 teams with the highest percentage of wins will face each other in a championship match, while the other 28 teams will be assigned to their 5th and final tournament game as participation. Most of the time, the championship teams are usually the undefeated teams within the tournament.

The exact schedule can be viewed here.

We have seen great performances from the games already played, including:
Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder):
– 2nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft
– 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks (Summer League record)

Ziaire Williams (Memphis Grizzlies):
– 10th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft
– 15 points, 8 assists, 2 steals

Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat):
– 27th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft
– 25 points, 9 rebounds

Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings):
– 4th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft
– 24 points, 7 rebounds

Fans should be excited as they witness the upcoming future stars of the NBA.

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