Two years ago, the Thomas & Mack Center filled up early and fast for Victor Wembanyama’s heavily anticipated NBA Summer League debut with the San Antonio Spurs.
There should be similar buzz and an equally strong turnout this Thursday, when top overall draft pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks take on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a nationally-televised Summer League game that will tip off at 5 p.m. (ESPN) inside the 18,000-seat venue on UNLV’s campus.
Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman will have front-row seats to the main event of this year’s Summer League slate, accompanying Flagg on Dallas’ roster this week and next in Las Vegas.
Nembhard, who signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks, and Hickman, who recently accepted an invitation from the Mavericks as they filled out their Summer League roster, are two of 10 former Gonzaga players competing in Vegas.
The group includes everyone from the school’s all-time scoring leader, to a former GU forward coming up on his seventh professional season, to three ex-Zags that spent just one season in Mark Few’s program before or after stops at other colleges.
Summer League games in Vegas start on Thursday and run through July 20, with consolation, semifinal and championship games taking place on the 18th, 19th and 20th.
Including Nembhard and Hickman, four players from GU’s 2025-26 roster that won the West Coast Conference Tournament title, extended the school’s NCAA Tournament streak and nearly sprung an upset of top-seeded Houston will be participating.
One other member of GU’s starting backcourt, Khalif Battle, will be in attendance after taking up an invitation from the Phoenix Suns, who open at 6 p.m. Wednesday against the Washington Wizards on ESPN2.
Ben Gregg, who recently signed a pro contract with SIG Strasbourg of France’s LNB Elite, will spend Summer League with the Boston Celtics, who open on Friday against former GU forward Jeremy Jones and the Memphis Grizzlies at 1 p.m. on NBA TV.
Memphis’ Summer League roster also features two Washington State players, including Cedric Coward, the No. 11 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, and Jaylen Wells, an NBA All-Rookie selection last season. The team listed Coward as “doubtful” to play for Summer League as the former WSU and Eastern Washington wing continues to recover from the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the final 28 games of the Cougars’ season.
Drew Timme and Anton Watson are returning to Summer League, albeit with different teams than the ones they played for last July. Timme, who signed a multiyear deal with the Brooklyn Nets in March, is joining the organization in Vegas, and Watson, his former college frontcourt and roommate, will be competing for the New York Knicks, who acquired the forward on March 4, two days after he was waived by the Boston Celtics.
Timme and Brooklyn face Oklahoma City at 2:30 p.m. in a Summer League opener that will air on ESPN2 while Watson and New York open the following day against the Detroit Pistons at 3 p.m. on NBA TV.
The former GU teammates could see each other on July 15, when the Nets face the Knicks at 3 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ESPN2.
Hunter Sallis, the former GU guard who played two seasons in Spokane before transferring to Wake Forest with Zag teammate Efton Reid, signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and will make his Vegas Summer League debut at 7 p.m. on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs on ESPN.
Reid is teaming up with Jones, Coward and Wells on Memphis’ Summer League roster while another former Zag big man, Oumar Ballo, is competing with the Miami Heat.
Mt. Spokane High product Tyson Degenhart, a multiple-time All-Mountain West selection at Boise State, is starting his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors on an Exhibit 10 contract. Degenhart and the Raptors open Summer League on Friday against the Chicago Bulls at 5 p.m. on NBA TV.