The NBA has formally announced the schedule for its Las Vegas Summer League, which tips off on Thursday, July 9.
The most notable of the games scheduled for that first Thursday is a matchup between Wizards vs. the Jazz at 9:00 pm Eastern time, which should pit the top two picks in the draft against one another, with AJ Dybantsa suiting up for Washington and Darryn Peterson taking the court for Utah.
A day later, on Friday at 8 pm ET, the No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer and the Grizzlies are scheduled to square off against No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson and the Bulls.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As Marc Stein of The Stein Lines notes (via Twitter), NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in multiple media appearances ahead of the draft, including during a spot on The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), that if the league moves forward with expansion to Seattle and/or Las Vegas, the plan would be for the new team(s) to begin competing in the 2028/29 season.
- Although the NBA’s new draft lottery format is only officially in place through the 2029 draft, Silver said during a pre-draft interview with ESPN on Tuesday that the league doesn’t plan to revert to a system in 2030 that rewards tanking. “Part of the agreement with the teams was that this system would be in place for three years,” Silver said, per Devon Henderson of The Athletic. “In essence, it’s grandfathered in. We all agree that would give us an opportunity to assess how this is working, and also look at some other approaches, which we thought, in fairness, the teams needed to be built in over time. But most importantly, we will not be returning to a system where there is an incentive to be bad.”
- It’s safe to say it won’t be this week’s biggest news involving an Antetokounmpo, but former NBA forward Kostas Antetokounmpo, one of Giannis’ brothers, is nearing a multiyear deal with the Greek team Aris B.C., according to Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops. Kostas played for Aris in 2025/26 while on loan from Olympiacos.
- Cavaliers point guard Dennis Schröder, the lone NBA player on the roster, is the headliner for the German national team for its upcoming 2027 World Cup qualifying games against Israel and Cyprus. Dario Skerletic of Sportando has the details.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the free agent market for point guards this offseason, ranking the options available from James Harden at No. 1 to the “radioactive” Terry Rozier at No. 36.
