NBA Summer League Day 1
**Who:** All 30 NBA teams
**When:** Friday to July 20
**Where:** Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion
**Tickets:** Start at $67 for single-day general admission
Thursday’s scores
Minnesota 98, New Orleans 91
Indiana 116, Cleveland 115
Oklahoma City 90, Brooklyn 81
Sacramento 84, Orlando 81
Dallas 87, L.A. Lakers 85
Milwaukee 90, Denver 89
Friday’s schedule
Memphis vs. Boston, 1 p.m., Cox Pavilion, NBAtv/ESPN+
Atlanta vs. Miami, 1:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center, ESPN2
New York vs. Detroit, 3 p.m., Cox, NBAtv/ESPN+
Utah vs. Charlotte, 4 p.m., T&M, ESPN
Chicago vs. Toronto, 5 p.m., Cox, NBAtv/ESPN+
Washington vs. Phoenix, 6 p.m., T&M, ESPN
L.A. Clippers vs. Houston, 7 p.m., Cox, NBAtv/ESPN+
Portland vs. Golden State, 8 p.m., T&M, ESPN2
Stars of the day
**Terrence Shannon Jr.**
**Minnesota Timberwolves**
Minnesota’s 2024 first-round pick started his second Summer League on a strong note.
Shannon scored 20 points on 42.9 percent shooting and added nine assists and six rebounds to help Minnesota defeat New Orleans 98-91 in the first game of the day at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Minnesota selected Shannon 27th overall in the 2024 draft out of Illinois. He averaged 13.3 points in four Summer League games in Las Vegas last year. The 6-foot-6-inch forward split last season between the Timberwolves and their G-League affiliate in Iowa.
Shannon played in 32 regular-season games with Minnesota and averaged 4.3 points and also appeared in nine postseason games. He spent his first three years of college at Texas Tech and his final two seasons at Illinois, where his No. 0 was retired in February.
**RayJ Dennis**
**Indiana Pacers**
Dennis led the way as Indiana overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to edge the Cavaliers 116-115. The 6-foot-2-inch point guard scored a team-high 26 points on 50 percent shooting with nine assists and four 3-pointers.
Dennis signed a two-way contract with Indiana in January after being undrafted out of Baylor and starting last season with the San Diego Clippers of the G-League. He appeared in 11 games for the Pacers but spent most of his time with their G-League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom.
Dennis, who played college basketball at Boise State, Toledo and Baylor, averaged 22.1 points, 8.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds in 20 G-League games last season.
**Ajay Mitchell**
**Oklahoma City Thunder**
Mitchell scored a team-high 20 points to help the Thunder claim a 90-81 win over Brooklyn at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Mitchell added five rebounds and shot 46.2 percent. He appeared in 36 games for Oklahoma City last season and also spent time in the G-League. He also played in 12 postseason games, including four in the NBA Finals.
Mitchell was drafted in the second round by the New York Knicks in 2024 out of UC Santa Barbara and traded to Oklahoma City on draft night. Mitchell, the 2023 Big West player of the year, averaged 18 points in two Las Vegas Summer League games last year.
Faces in the crowd
No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg’s debut brought out several high-profile faces from his team. Among them were Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving, coach Jason Kidd, new assistant coach Frank Vogel and majority owner Patrick Dumont.
Other Mavericks players in attendance included former Coronado High star Jaden Hardy, former Findlay Prep standout P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Max Christie and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty was also courtside to see Flagg take on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Jeanty was selected sixth overall by the Raiders in the NFL draft.
Lakers star LeBron James wasn’t in attendance, but his wife, Savannah, and daughter, Zhuri, sat courtside to watch Bronny James. Former Kansas and North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams made an appearance to watch Flagg and James.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was courtside at Cox Pavilion to watch his team face the Indiana Pacers. He was named the NBA coach of the year last season after leading the Cavaliers to a 64-18 regular-season record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Atkinson was alongside associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and team president Koby Altman. The three wore WNBA Cleveland gear. It was announced last month that the WNBA would expand to Cleveland and the team would join the league in 2028.
Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs was at Cox Pavilion to see his team face the Sacramento Kings. New Kings associate head coach Mike Woodson was also in attendance.
Second-year Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernández and players Dariq Whitehead, Noah Clowney, Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin took in the action. So did Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers.
_The Review-Journal is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Las Vegas Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont._
Contact Alex Wright at [awright@reviewjournal.com](mailto:awright@reviewjournal.com). Follow [@AlexWright1028](https://x.com/@AlexWright1028) on X.