NBA Summer League 2025

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I did not realize Nikola Topic had been playing in SL.

At the NBA Summer League, during a broadcast of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets game at the Thomas and Mack Center, ESPN's Bobby Marks joined the broadcast. The conversation was shifted onto the Thunder rookie, where Marks revealed a bold assessment from a league scout.

"This was after the Utah Summer League, I talked to a scout and I asked him if Topic was in this year's draft where would he got...I had a scout tell me [Topic] would've been a top-five pick in this draft," Marks said.

Considering who was at the top of this year's class names, such as Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecome, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson, etc. This is an impressive appraisal of the Thunder rookie.

I haven't seen Topic play yet in this year's SL. He would be one of the more exciting young player to see.

I watched his Utah summer league games. He definitely has good court vision, but in the "normal floor general" way, not the exciting way. As far as style, he's far more Chris Paul than Tyrese Haliburton, if that makes sense. He's a less athletic, less exciting version of Josh Giddey.

He definitely did not look like he was trusting his knee yet. He was slow in his scouting report last year before his injury, but he looked timid on his feet still.

It'll be interesting to see how he develops, because the Thunder system is not really built around his strengths as a floor general. And I'm not really sure there's enough playing time and usage to go around with all their players.

Definitely an intersting guy to watch.

[Goldstar88]

VJ is nasty. Philly made the right call.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

VJ is nasty. Philly made the right call.

That play where he made the driving layup from the top of the key, literally going so fast he was out of bounds past the goal and further out of bounds than any player, and then sprinted all the way back and was the first back to break up a layup the other way...

There aren't many players in the NBA that move like that. I agree. He's special.

[Goldstar88]

VJ is nasty. Philly made the right call.

That play where he made the driving layup from the top of the key, literally going so fast he was out of bounds past the goal and further out of bounds than any player, and then sprinted all the way back and was the first back to break up a layup the other way...

There aren't many players in the NBA that move like that. I agree. He's special.

That was the play that sparked my comment. 

He?s going to be fun to watch.

[Goldstar88]

Tyrese Proctor went off today. In 28 mins of play: 35pts, 4ast, 3rebs, 2stls. He was 11-24 from the field. 9-9 from the line.

I was hoping Brad would have drafted him and/or Caleb Love in the second round.

[Moranis]

VJ is nasty. Philly made the right call.

That play where he made the driving layup from the top of the key, literally going so fast he was out of bounds past the goal and further out of bounds than any player, and then sprinted all the way back and was the first back to break up a layup the other way...

There aren't many players in the NBA that move like that. I agree. He's special.

That was the play that sparked my comment. 

He?s going to be fun to watch.

Forget who asked, but when I had a proposed trade before the draft with Philly including #3, George, and McCain for Brown, I said I thought he was the real deal and why I would have been willing to make that trade.  Obviously summer league isn't a real gauge of things, but VJ definitely has a chance to be a star in this league.

[Surferdad]

Does anyone know when the 5th Celtics SL game is?
https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612738/2025/07/schedule.jpeg?_gl=1*ab2140*_gcl_au*OTYwNTkyMzkyLjE3NTI2NzM4ODk.*_ga*OTYwOTM4NDUzLjE3NTI2NzM4OTA.*_ga_N0Q76FFCV9*czE3NTI2NzM4ODkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTI2NzM5NDIkajckbDAkaDA.

[Goldstar88]

Does anyone know when the 5th Celtics SL game is?
https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612738/2025/07/schedule.jpeg?_gl=1*ab2140*_gcl_au*OTYwNTkyMzkyLjE3NTI2NzM4ODk.*_ga*OTYwOTM4NDUzLjE3NTI2NzM4OTA.*_ga_N0Q76FFCV9*czE3NTI2NzM4ODkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTI2NzM5NDIkajckbDAkaDA.

Looks like it?s on Sunday at 6pm ET.

[Goldstar88]

I really like Kon Knueppel. Smart player.

[Goldstar88]

Can?t believe they have summer league championship rings. 

Final game is on now. Kings vs Hornets.

[Who]

Channing Frye telling a story of the Cooper Flagg SL debut. He compared it to Zion and Wemby and said none of them had the level of fan attraction that Flagg had. He said the line to get in was wrapped all around the stadium twice. He had never seen that before for any of the other SL debuts.

[Who]

Gilbert Arenas comparing Carter Bryant (Spurs SF #14 pick) to Amen Thompson. Not clear whether this comp is as an overall player or purely as a defender.

Arenas was arguing for trading away D Fox because of how good D Harper, S Castle, and C Bryant are. He believes those 3 need to start. They are the future. They are more exciting as a group than trying to shoehorn Fox in there. Their combined size / athleticism / defense is an awesome weapon. The guards big 6-6 guys with C Bryan as a 6-7/6-8 SF. Lots of length. Speed.

Very high on D Harper after summer league. Arenas wasn't sure where he fits in. He wants D Harper on the ball. Not off the ball. He doesn't fit well with Fox. D Harper is too good to come off the bench.

[gift]

Gilbert Arenas comparing Carter Bryant (Spurs SF #14 pick) to Amen Thompson. Not clear whether this comp is as an overall player or purely as a defender.

Arenas was arguing for trading away D Fox because of how good D Harper, S Castle, and C Bryant are. He believes those 3 need to start. They are the future. They are more exciting as a group than trying to shoehorn Fox in there. Their combined size / athleticism / defense is an awesome weapon. The guards big 6-6 guys with C Bryan as a 6-7/6-8 SF. Lots of length. Speed.

Very high on D Harper after summer league. Arenas wasn't sure where he fits in. He wants D Harper on the ball. Not off the ball. He doesn't fit well with Fox. D Harper is too good to come off the bench.

i agree that the time is probably right to move Fox. he will likely hurt Harper's value and moving him can return value and flexibility that works better with what they have.

[JBcat]

I am wondering if Utah will start Ace Bailey at SG as a rookie. I'd love to see them go out and get a legit starting SG like Quentin Grimes in free agency. However, if they do not ... they appear to have 2 main options:

(1) Go small with two small guards. I Collier and Keyonte George would be the likely starters in this scenario.

(2) Go big and play with two SFs alongside one guard. I Collier the guard. Cody Williams and Ace Bailey the SFs.

G: Isaiah Collier
G: Ace Bailey
F: Cody Williams
F: Lauri Markkanen
C: Walker Kessler

That would be a fun team. Lot of size. Lot of speed. A lack of ball-handling and passing outside of the PG position though. A lack of outside shooting 1 through 3 also.

Still a good young corps to build around. Give them playing time. Let them grow. See what they have to offer.

Keyonte George is 6?4. He?s the same height as Grimes. I?d expect the starting lineup to be Collier, George, Bailey, Markannen and Kessler. Clayton Jr, Sensebaugh, Williams, Flipowski, and Nurkic off the bench.

Yeah but K George is skinny. He is lightweight. He can't defend SGs. He needs to play PG defensively to stay on the court. He is around 190lbs. He is like Anfernee Simons. Too lightweight to defend SGs / needs to play PGs defensively.

Q Grimes has muscle. He is 210lbs. He can defend SGs. Which is good because he doesn't have the handles to play PG.

I?d expect the starting lineup to be Collier, George, Bailey, Markannen and Kessler. Clayton Jr, Sensebaugh, Williams, Flipowski, and Nurkic off the bench.

The guy I forgot all about in Utah was Taylor Hendricks. After that long layoff with injury. I forgot he was even on the team. He was looking good as a rookie. A challenger for the backup PF slot.

Someone good is going to be missing out on playing time. T Hendricks, Filipowksi, Nurkic, maybe Cody Williams. That frontcourt is crowded.

Sensabough is going to have a tough time. He is too slow to play guard. Now they got these 2 young SFs they just drafted in the lottery in back-to-back years ahead of him. He might need to move on to get an opportunity somewhere else. He sure was putting on a show in SL. Maybe someone will step up and put in an offer for him.

Quentin Grimes is also 26 years old. Keyonte is 21. He doesn?t have a skinny frame, so he could bulk up some. In the meantime, they can have him guard the opposing PG?s and Collier can take care of the SG?s. Also, D-White is only 6?4/190lbs. I don?t consider him to be a small guard. He does a fine job guarding SG?s.

Wow, that is surprising that D White is only 190lbs. He doesn't look it. Keyonte George looks frail. He is painful watching him try to defend anyone who isn't a PG.

I am not invested in Keyonte George as a long term prospect. I consider him a tweener guard who is neither a PG or a SG. He is a scoring guard who doesn't score effectively. 39% FG% and 34% 3PT%. I am not confident in his long term potential. I would be trying to trade him off rather than considering him a building block.

Isaiah Collier would be interesting defending opposing SGs. See how he does. Maybe they would be an easier cover for him than PGs (from a quickness standpoint).

Doesn?t look Frail at all. Keyonte George is the only Jazz player to score 30+ points(4 times) before turning 21. Youngest player to score 30pts or more in their franchise history. He?s talented. Feel like we are talking about different players. George has a lot of upside.

Utah?s situation is interesting to see how their young players shake out. I may be with Who on this one regarding George. Inefficient player that doesn?t do much else. It looked as though Collier could be taking over that starting PG spot towards the end of the season.

I like Sensabaugh. A dead eye shooter that has some shake to his game. Hendricks is a forgotten player but I like him too.

[Roy H.]

Utah?s situation is interesting to see how their young players shake out. I may be with Who on this one regarding George. Inefficient player that doesn?t do much else. It looked as though Collier could be taking over that starting PG spot towards the end of the season.

I like Sensabaugh. A dead eye shooter that has some shake to his game. Hendricks is a forgotten player but I like him too.

Yeah, I said it in a different thread, but I'm a bit envious that Utah ended up with Sensabaugh and Filipowski with their late round picks.  I'm bummed that Brad passed on both of them, and we ended up with Walsh and Scheierman.