Summer League Basketball: Your Ultimate Guide to Players, Teams, and Highlights

Walking into the Las Vegas Summer League arena always feels like stepping into a pressure cooker of raw potential and unrefined talent. The air crackles with nervous energy—from the undrafted rookies desperate to prove they belong, to the G-League veterans fighting for that two-way contract, to the lottery picks shouldering the weight of franchise expectations. I’ve been covering this event for over a decade, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Summer League basketball is less about wins and losses and more about process, adaptation, and, surprisingly, poise. You see flashes of breathtaking athleticism, sure, but the real story often unfolds in the timeouts and the huddles, in the subtle adjustments that separate a promising performance from a forgettable one.

I was reminded of this during a recent game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans’ summer squad, led by a coach I deeply respect, Carlos Reyes, had been struggling with consistency in their previous outings. They’d build a lead, only to see it evaporate under a barrage of opponent runs, often fueled by their own frantic mistakes. After the game, Reyes shared a nugget of wisdom that, for me, encapsulates the entire Summer League experience. He said, "Because we limited our turnovers, and by doing so, we cut down their second-chance points. So even when they were making a run in the last few games, when they were making a run, we were trying to push too hard. So we kind of flipped the script today, to say, relax and make sure we just have those quality possessions." That quote stuck with me. It’s a deceptively simple concept, but in the chaotic, fast-paced environment of Summer League, it’s a revolutionary mindset. Most of these young players have spent their entire careers being the best athlete on the floor, able to force the action. Here, against similarly gifted players, that approach often backfires spectacularly.

Let’s break down what Reyes was really talking about. Turnovers are the lifeblood of Summer League chaos. In a typical game, you might see a combined 35 turnovers between the two teams. Each one is a gift—a chance for the other team to get an easy basket in transition, to build momentum, and to demoralize a defense that hasn't even had a chance to set up. More critically, as Reyes pointed out, turnovers often lead directly to second-chance points, even if it’s not in the traditional offensive-rebound sense. A live-ball turnover is the ultimate "second chance" for the offense; it’s an unearned possession that they shouldn’t have had. I’ve crunched hypothetical numbers from past leagues, and I’d estimate that teams that win the turnover battle by a margin of 5 or more go on to win roughly 78% of their games. It’s that significant.

The second part of his statement is the real psychological insight. "When they were making a run... we were trying to push too hard." I see this all the time. A team gives up an 8-0 run, and the immediate instinct for a young player is to hero-ball their way out of it—to take a heavily contested three-pointer early in the shot clock or to drive recklessly into a packed lane. It’s a panic response. They’re trying to get it all back in one possession, and in doing so, they often compound the problem with another bad shot or, you guessed it, a costly turnover. This creates a vicious cycle that can turn a manageable 8-point deficit into a 20-point blowout in the span of just a few minutes. I have a strong preference for teams that have a steady, veteran point guard running their summer squad for exactly this reason. They are the on-court embodiment of that "relax" command from the coach.

So, how did the Pelicans "flip the script"? It wasn't with a dramatic new offensive set or a revolutionary defensive scheme. It was a mental shift. They prioritized what Reyes called "quality possessions." What does that mean? To me, it means a possession that doesn't end after just one pass. It means working the ball around, even if it doesn't result in a shot, to make the defense work for a full 24 seconds. It means taking a good shot, not just the first available shot. It means if a play breaks down, you reset and run something simple rather than forcing up a prayer. This approach has a cumulative effect. It slows the game down to your preferred pace. It frustrates an opponent that wants to run and gun. And most importantly, it builds sustainable habits that translate to the real NBA. The highlights will show the poster dunks and the deep threes, but the scouts and the savvy fans are watching for these stretches of composed, intelligent basketball.

From my perspective, this is the ultimate guide to evaluating Summer League talent. Don't just watch the box score. Watch how a player reacts to adversity. Does he compound a mistake with another one, or does he take a breath and make the simple, correct play next time down? The players who grasp this—the ones who understand that sometimes the best way to stop a run is to simply get a good, clean look at the basket, even if it misses—are the ones I’m betting on to have long NBA careers. They’re the ones who move beyond being just athletes and start becoming basketball players. So as you tune in to the games, keep an ear out for coaches like Reyes and watch for the teams that value each possession. In the grand spectacle of Summer League, the quietest adjustment—choosing to relax and execute—often makes the loudest statement.