LAS VEGAS, Nev. — It was just a few weeks ago that the NBA crowned a new champion in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Now, we quickly move on. We've already had the 2025 NBA Draft and on Thursday night, all 30 teams are in Nevada to start the Las Vegas Summer League.
These are the only games on the NBA calendar where every team is in one spot. There are two courts next to each other, and there will be games every day, starting Thursday night and running through July 20, where a summer champion is crowned.
Since a championship game was introduced in 2013, NBA Summer League champions by year have been the Golden State Warriors (2013), Sacramento Kings (2014), San Antonio Spurs (2015), Chicago Bulls (2016), Los Angeles Lakers (2017), Portland Trail Blazers (2018), Memphis Grizzlies (2019), Sacramento (2021), Portland (2022), Cleveland Cavaliers (2023) and Miami Heat (2024).
There are seven games on Thursday. Here is the complete schedule, with opponents, game times, locations and national TV outlets. Many of the games are televised on local channels as well.
Here are three things to look for on Day 1 of the NBA Summer league.
The two players who will probably get the most attention this summer are No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and Bronny James, LeBron's son who was the No. 55 overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024. They actually play against each other on opening night.
Flagg spent one year at Duke, and averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the ACC champions. He was the consensus National Player of the Year and was locked in as the No. 1 pick from Day 1.
James took a lot of heat last year for his legacy status, and lot of people ripped him for only getting drafted because of his dad. But he actually had a few big games in the NBA — he had 17 points in a March 20 game against Milwaukee — and played very well in the G League the final month. There's a lot of interest in how much better he will be in Year2.
Rutgers guard Dylan Harper was picked No. 2 overall by the San Antonio Spurs and he'll see action for the first time in the final game of the night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harper joins a Spurs team that's on the rise, led by Victor Wembanyana, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. Their second first-round pick, Carter Bryant of Arizona, will be playing in Las Vegas, too. Philadelphia will showcase No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe for the first time.
Jalen Hood-Schifino, who had a great freshman year at Indiana and was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, never got a shot in LA and landed with the Philadelphia 76ers last spring. He's looking to make their roster this year, and he played well earlier in the week when he had 17 points in an 89-78 loss to the Thunder in San Francisco.
Hood-Schifino should get a lot of run here in Las Vegas, and it starts Thursday night.