The NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas is a great opportunity for young players and recent draft picks to get experience playing against higher-level competition in preparation for what they will experience in the NBA. It’s also a perfect way for us to get a sense for which 2025 rookies might be ready to contribute immediately at a level worthy of fantasy hoops or NBA betting consideration.
The league also showcases other young players, typically second- or third- year veterans, who might be ready to take on a larger role for their NBA teams moving forward.
I find attending the Summer League to be invaluable in evaluating young players and projecting what we might expect from them in the near future. Here are some of my thoughts based on what I saw in Las Vegas and how I think that will impact the upcoming season from a fantasy hoops and NBA betting perspective.
Impact rookies
Cooper Flagg, SF, Dallas Mavericks
He has it. One big difference between watching the games in person as opposed to following along in the box scores, or even watching on TV, is that in person you get to experience the entire environment. That includes the other players — both on and off the court — the crowd and the feeling inside the gym. The sense of the moment.
So, in the second quarter of Flagg’s debut, when he took a power-step into the paint with a lane full of Lakers on defense and set his feet to explode upwards and dunk on the entire state of California… and when another NBA analyst and I stopped our conversation and grabbed each other’s arms like “I know he’s not about to”… and when the entire arena stopped and held its collective breath…
Well. That was a moment.
More than that, though, I was impressed with Flagg’s skill level, both in the first game where he had a strong all-around performance but was a little off with his shot and in his second game where he dropped 31 points and showed what his scoring could look like when his shot was working. I was also impressed with Flagg’s size. In person, he looked bigger physically than I expected, which bodes well for his readiness to bang with the professionals. All of these things are important.
When it comes to elite prospects and whether they are likely to step onto the court and make their presence felt from Day 1, it is rare to see someone who has “it” in Vegas and doesn’t impress in their rookie season. We have been hearing about and waiting on Flagg to arrive for several years. He was the frontrunner to win Rookie of the Year as soon as his name was called on draft night. And after what I saw in Vegas, I am fully on board.
Barring injury, expect Flagg to have a huge rookie season for a Mavericks team that needs him. I would take him right now in the fourth round of fantasy hoops league drafts, and that’s being conservative.
Dylan Harper, PG, San Antonio Spurs
I’ve been scouting the Las Vegas Summer League for two decades now. One of the most impressive performances that I saw early on was from Brandon Roy in 2006. Roy didn’t win the MVP for the Summer League that year; that honor went to Randy Foye, who Roy was traded for on draft night. But while Foye was explosive and spectacular with his ability to create his own shot off the dribble, it was Roy that quietly turned in the more impressive performance.
Roy was a tall guard at 6-foot-6, but he showed in that summer league that he could run a team as the point guard. He could get to wherever he wanted on the court without speeding himself up, either utilizing the pick or by utilizing angles to get a step on his opponents and get his body past them. And he absolutely dominated the action. He went on to showcase that same ability at the NBA level and won the 2007 Rookie of the Year award.
The highest compliment that I can give Harper’s performance in Vegas is that it strongly reminded me of what I saw from Roy in 2006.
Harper is another big, silky-smooth guard who is able to control the action on the court without seeming to press. He could get into the paint at will off the dribble, either utilizing picks or just breaking down his man, and when he got to the rim he had the size and explosiveness to make himself a consistent threat to score or draw the foul. He also was adept at sucking in the defense then dishing to open teammates. His athleticism translated to both offense and defense; in fact, he had one of the highlights of the tournament with a ridiculous, circus-level blocked shot as the lone defender back on the fast break.
On draft night, I didn’t have Harper listed as likely to produce big fantasy hoops stats as a rookie because of how deep the Spurs are at his position. They have All-Star De’Aaron Fox at point guard and several talented wings, including reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle. It is still hard to see how Harper gets the minutes to compete with his classmates like Flagg for Rookie of the Year.
That said, Harper was very impressive in the summer league and looks ready to produce in whatever role the Spurs have for him. If that role is large, then Harper has the game to be worthy of a favored spot in the Rookie of the Year race and in fantasy hoops rankings. In Vegas, that’s the question I needed answered.
Tre Johnson, SG, Washington Wizards
Neither No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe nor No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey played in the Las Vegas Summer League, so I didn’t get any added information on what to expect from them this season. But Johnson, the No. 6 overall pick, did play. And he played well, demonstrating many of the skills that seem likely to lead to good numbers from him as a rookie.
On draft night, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas called Johnson the best overall 3-point shooter in this year’s class because he could hit them at high volume and with accuracy off the dribble, as well as off the spot-up. Johnson showcased that shooting in Vegas, where he played a lot of point guard and demonstrated that he was very comfortable setting up his own shot and knocking it down. Johnson did that in the halfcourt, and he also showed a willingness to pull up and knock down the trey on the fast break.
Johnson will be playing for a Wizards squad deep in rebuilding mode. The Wizards traded away their leading scorers from each of the last two seasons in the last several months (Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks at the trade deadline, Jordan Poole to the Pelicans this offseason). Though the Wizards brought in veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton, the overwhelming majority of their rotation is very young players, and their timeline is the future.
Johnson fits into that timeline and looks to be a natural shooter/scorer that should get big minutes right away. After what I saw in Vegas, I have him even more firmly in the Rookie of the Year race as well as on my fantasy hoops radar.
Sophomores on the rise
Alex Sarr, C, Wizards
Despite not showing much in last year’s summer league, Sarr went on to have a very respectable rookie season. As a sophomore, Sarr turned in one of the more memorable performances I saw in his second game Sunday in Vegas. Sarr was absolutely everywhere on the court, particularly on defense, and it felt like he blocked every shot. I wasn’t surprised when it turned out he had blocked eight shots and was only two blocks short of a triple-double (16 points, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks).
Sarr is a great athlete in the middle and uses his athleticism on both the boards and as a rim protector. On offense, Sarr can use that same athletic ability to finish around the rim, but he also is a solid shooter who continues to work on his 3-point shot. And he’s the lone starting-caliber center on an extremely young Wizards squad that is looking to make him their franchise player. I expect Sarr to build on his solid rookie season and turn in a very strong performance as a sophomore.
Reed Sheppard, PG/SG, Houston Rockets
Sheppard was hailed as the best shooter of the 2024 draft class and turned in an impressive performance in Las Vegas as s rookie, but once the season began, there just weren’t enough minutes available for him on a Rockets squad that was deep on the perimeter. This offseason, the Rockets traded away their starting shooting guard and small forward in Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, as well as another talented young wing in Cam Whitmore. There should be more minutes available for Sheppard, and from what he showed in Vegas this season he’s ready to produce in those minutes.
Ironically, Sheppard’s shot was his weak point in Vegas this season. He was volume shooting instead of displaying his more typical marksmanship from deep. But in the action I saw, he was clearly the dominant player on the court. Sheppard only played two games before being shut down, but he was clearly among the sophomores I considered “too good for the summer league”. In addition to the 46 points he racked up across two games, he also grabbed 11 boards and a whopping eight steals. Sheppard has the talent to produce an all-around stat line for fantasy hoops purposes, and it certainly looks like he should get at least sixth-man minutes as a sophomore.
Ronald Holland II, SF, Detroit Pistons
Holland, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, got a lot of experience as a rookie in 81 regular season games, plus he got some playoffs minutes to boot. As such, it’s not surprising that the summer league game was just too easy for him. It felt like he was everywhere in his first game, scoring at will (28 points on only 12 field-goal attempts) from both the inside (13 free-throw attempts) and outside (4-for-5 from 3-point range). Holland also cleaned the glass in his Vegas sophomore debut, just out-physicalling and out-quicking his opponents to grab 11 boards. I didn’t get to see his third game, but he dominated that game on defense with six steals in 33 minutes.
Holland has a nuanced offensive game where he can create off the dribble and work all three levels as a scorer. He is a strong defender and rebounder, and he plays an important role for a young Pistons team. It seems unlikely that he’ll get starter minutes, but if he can earn legit sixth-man minutes, Holland’s production could make a leap into fantasy hoops relevance in his sophomore campaign.
Rob Dillingham, PG and Terrence Shannon Jr., SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves
Dillingham looked markedly better in Vegas this season than he did as a rookie, when he seemed to struggle getting his shot in the flow of the offense as he tried to run more point guard. The Timberwolves need Dillingham to develop into the lead guard of the future as Mike Conley ages out of the position. They need Dillingham to be able to credibly run the team, but even more they need another playmaker in the main unit alongside Anthony Edwards.
Dillingham showed in this Summer League that he has made major strides, and that the pro game is starting to slow down for him. The thing that stood out the most to me was how comfortable he looked on the court and how smoothly he was able to transition from floor general to offensive threat this season. Dillingham was strong in his second game in Vegas, which I witnessed in person, scoring 15 points and dishing seven assists. He was even better on Wednesday, after I left, dropping 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. I see a sophomore leap in production for Dillingham, as he settles into a major role in the Timberwolves’ rotation.
The same can be said for Dillingham’s teammate and classmate Shannon, who was the most impressive player on the court in the Timberwolves’ first Summer League game. He was aggressive off the dribble, in both the halfcourt and on the fast break, and finished with 20 points, nine assists, six boards and two steals. Shannon would go on to score 20 or more points in each of his first three games, and at different times he controlled the action with his rebounding and playmaking as well.
The Timberwolves lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the offseason, and Shannon looks poised to take on a larger role as a sophomore. Shannon was drafted late in the first round in 2024, the No. 27 overall pick, but it’s easy to forget that he had been considered a lottery talent before off-court legal issues tanked his draft stock. Shannon played himself onto the court for the Timberwolves as a rookie, even getting meaningful minutes in the playoffs. He is another that could make a leap into fantasy hoops respectability in a rotation role as a sophomore.
Kyle Filipowski, PF, Utah Jazz
My first notes on Filipowski from his first game in the summer league as a sophomore read: “Filipowski posts at the free throw line, draws the foul on the drive. He looks too good for summer league, but does have 4 fouls… make it 5… with 3 minutes left in the second quarter. He then knocks down another 3 at the other end.” Filipowski would go on to drop 32 points in that game, adding six rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot.
Sometimes a player only has one good outing, and if that happens to be the one I see I might have a better impression of him than if I had seen other games. But Filipowski was dominant all through the league, dropping 21 and six in his second game and a whopping 35 points with 11 boards on Monday. Filipowski was solid as a rookie, averaging 9.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG on 50.2 FG% in 21.1 MPG, and the Jazz traded away starting power forward John Collins, so Filipowski could be in for a bigger role as a sophomore. His production as a rookie was already worthy of being on the fantasy hoops radar, but based on what I saw in Vegas and a projected larger role, Filipowski has legitimate fantasy hoops upside as a second-year player.
Quick hits and other notes
-
Trail Blazers center Yang Hansen really drew the eye in Vegas. In his first game, Hansen had one of the biggest crowd reactions during intros that I saw that day, trailing only Flagg and Bronny James. And when the game began, he won the opening tip then ran down the court calling the play he wanted the Trail Blazers to run. They did, and he curled through the paint then back to the top of the key, got the ball, then delivered a perfect bounce-pass to a cutter for an easy layup. He followed that up a couple minutes later with an even more spectacular dime and proved himself to be one of the better passing big men in this year’s class. He’s behind last year’s lottery pick Donovan Clingan on the depth charts, but I’d keep an eye on Yang to see what his role looks like as a rookie. He has potential.
-
I checked out the Charlotte Hornets a couple of times in Vegas with an eye on No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, but it was No. 29 pick Liam McNeeley who stole the show with 22 points, 12 boards, six assists and 3 3-pointers. McNeeley had two strong games before being shut down with Achilles tendonitis, and he has an uphill climb for minutes this season. But he did look good in Vegas, so I’ll keep an eye on him. Knueppel struggled in the first game, but did go on to play better as the league progressed. He also has a shorter path to playing time for the Hornets and could get meaningful minutes as a shooter right from opening tip.
-
Walter Clayton Jr., the No. 18 overall pick last month and star of the NCAA champion Florida squad, only played one game for the Jazz before injuring his hamstring. However, in that one game he displayed the shooting prowess that made him the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament and earned him a draft nod. In that game against Charlotte, Clayton knocked down four 3-pointers, scored 21 points and grabbed six boards. He’ll be playing for a very young Jazz team in full rebuild, and I could see Clayton earning an important role right from opening tip if he stays healthy.
