2026 NBA summer league: Players to watch on all 30 teams
These are the rookies and veteran players to keep an eye on as the NBA descends on Las Vegas for summer league.
NBAnews - nba summer leagueAtlanta Hawks
Full story
This year's Las Vegas summer league has a little something for everyone.
AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer headline a highly touted rookie class loaded with star potential. Meanwhile, Collin Murray-Boyles, Khaman Maluach and Yang Hansen lead a deep crop of 2025 first-round picks hoping to showcase their progress and earn larger roles in their second seasons.
And top title contenders such as the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will seek to determine whether several key young prospects are ready for rotation minutes.
Here's a team-by-team preview of the players to watch when the Las Vegas summer league action tips off Thursday.
Jump to a team: ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN NO | NYK | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS
Atlanta Hawks
Player to watch: Henri Veesaar
Veesaar, a 7-foot center from Estonia, unexpectedly slipped to the 52nd pick, raising questions about whether he should have returned to UNC for another year of seasoning rather than declaring for the draft.
At the predraft combine in May, Veesaar told CBSSports.com that "getting thrown into the fire is the best way to learn." Unfortunately, that might not be the story of his rookie season in Atlanta, where he'll face an uphill battle for minutes in a crowded big-man rotation that also includes 2026 first-round pick Zuby Ejiofor. If Veesaar can hold his own in Las Vegas, he could silence those who believe he should have spent next season as a well-compensated starter in Chapel Hill.
Boston Celtics
Player to watch: Hugo Gonzalez
Gonzalez, 20, made a cameo appearance during NBA trade season amid reports that the Celtics wouldn't include him in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some outsiders wondered why Boston would draw the line at Gonzalez, who averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds as a rookie, before turning around and trading Jaylen Brown to the 76ers for a modest return.
But the 2025 first-round pick delivered great value off the bench last season thanks to his energy and defense. Gonzalez posted a plus-11.9 net rating in 74 games, the highest mark by any rookie who logged at least 100 minutes. The Celtics could use summer league to test Gonzalez's capabilities with an expanded offensive role, assuming the 6-6 wing takes the court in Las Vegas after starting for Spain in a pair of FIBA World Cup qualifying games over the past week.
Brooklyn Nets
Player to watch: Mikel Brown Jr.
All eyes in Brooklyn will be on Brown, a scoring point guard who went sixth in last month's draft to become the Nets' highest pick since Derrick Favors in 2010. After a challenging season in which the Nets ranked 30th on offense, the 20-year-old Brown should get every opportunity to take the reins.
The Louisville product's first test will be moving past a back injury that limited him to 21 games as a freshman. From there, the Nets will want to see him score in volume and run the offense in the low-pressure Las Vegas setting.
Charlotte Hornets
Player to watch: Ryan Kalkbrenner
The Hornets won the 2025 Las Vegas summer league championship thanks in large part to Kon Knueppel and Kalkbrenner, their 2025 draft picks. That summer success was a sign of positive things to come, as Knueppel and Kalkbrenner ranked first and second in win shares among rookies, respectively, and helped Charlotte reach the play-in tournament.
Kalkbrenner, a second-round pick from Creighton, is back for more in Las Vegas. Though the Hornets traded LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, re-signed Coby White and added forwards Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith during a busy summer, they haven't made a major addition at center and appear poised to lean more heavily on Kalkbrenner during his second season.
Wilson will take the court in Las Vegas for his first action since fracturing his left hand in February and breaking his right thumb in March. The first setback happened just days after he scored 23 points for UNC in a rivalry win over Duke, and the second ended his promising freshman season. Nevertheless, the Bulls grabbed Wilson with the No. 4 pick, envisioning the athletic 6-10 forward as a key building block for their rebuilding effort.
After being hired in June to replace Billy Donovan as coach, Tiago Splitter will get an up-close look at his new lottery pick when he coaches the Bulls in Las Vegas. The Trail Blazers ranked ninth in pace under Splitter last season, and Splitter will surely emphasize an up-tempo approach in Chicago to make the most of Wilson's comfort in transition.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Player to watch: Meleek Thomas
Let's be honest: LeBron James' potential return to Cleveland just might overshadow the team's summer league slate. While the veteran-dominated Cavaliers didn't have a first-round selection last month, they snagged 19-year-old Thomas early in the second round.
Thomas averaged 15.6 points and shot 41.6% on 3-pointers during his freshman season at Arkansas. The 6-5 guard's outside shooting could prove handy if the Cavaliers must trade away wing talent to facilitate James' arrival.
Dallas Mavericks
Player to watch: Morez Johnson Jr.
Dallas split with the predraft consensus by making Johnson the first of three University of Michigan players selected in the lottery. Of course, the Mavericks had an inside man: They hired Dusty May as their coach a few months after he guided the Wolverines to the NCAA title.
Johnson projects to have a significant role as a rookie thanks to his high activity level on both ends. May encouraged the imposing 6-9 power forward to extend his shooting range at Michigan, so it would make sense for Johnson to spend some time at summer league getting comfortable with the NBA's deeper 3-point arc.
Denver Nuggets
Player to watch: Trevon Brazile
The Nuggets are taking a different approach to summer league than most teams: Their roster has six players who are 25 or older but doesn't include a single player younger than 22. Clearly, Denver is more interested in finding established players to complement veterans Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon than investing in long-term developmental projects.
Denver's new second-round picks are emblematic of the general approach: Brazile, 23, and Bryce Hopkins, 24, each played five seasons of collegiate basketball. Brazile, a 6-9 forward who pencils in as a backup for Gordon, averaged 13 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as a starter for Arkansas last season.
Detroit Pistons
Player to watch: Ebuka Okorie
While the Pistons entered the summer needing another backcourt playmaker, their biggest veteran additions were sharpshooter Isaiah Joe and athletic forward John Collins. That could signal organizational confidence that Okorie, the 17th pick in this year's draft, could step in as a rookie to help fill the void.
Okorie, 19, averaged 23.2 points and 3.6 assists per game during his one-and-done season at Stanford, leading the ACC in scoring. His downhill attacking style looks like a natural fit in summer league, and Detroit should be motivated to turn him loose as it seeks to diversify an offense that was overly dependent on franchise guard Cade Cunningham.
The Warriors drafted Lendeborg to be a plug-and-play role player for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but they have every reason to expect him to be a summer league standout given that he was the oldest player selected in the first round.
Remarkably, the 23-year-old Lendeborg was in the same high school class as Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley, who are set to enter their sixth NBA seasons. After earning All-America honors and winning a national championship at Michigan, the versatile forward should thrive as a scorer and multi-positional defender in Las Vegas.
Houston Rockets
Player to watch: Bruce Thornton
The Rockets re-signed Tari Eason and added free agents Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic this summer, but those moves didn't directly address their dire need for additional initiators and distributors. The door remains open for Thornton, a 2026 second-round pick, to compete for minutes behind Fred VanVleet.
Thornton, 22, departed Ohio State after four seasons as the program's all-time leading scorer, and he posted an impressive 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior. The undersized guard will be Houston's top priority in Las Vegas because he was its only addition in this year's draft.
