The Must-Watch Matchups For The First Weekend Of NBA Summer League In Vegas


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NBA Summer League tipped off on Monday as the Utah Summer League and California Classic in Sacramento opened with eight teams combined in action. Those two are a precursor for the main event in Las Vegas, where for the first time ever all 30 teams will participate.

Vegas Summer League has become a legitimate event, growing from a scattering of fans and media in Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack to a massive gathering of the NBA world, with hundreds of thousands of people passing through the doors at UNLV. The basketball itself is, well, not great, to be generous. These are mostly players that won’t be on an NBA roster next season and the lack of continuity between these thrown together teams that have practiced for maybe one week is noticeable.

Still, there are things to be learned from Summer League and things to enjoy watching. There is the opportunity to, briefly, watch last year’s mid-tier rookies dominate until they are sent packing by their teams to avoid any silly injuries. There are also the star attractions, which are the top draft picks from this past June. NBA Summer League knows the people want to see the top picks go at it, and they oblige by creating plenty of tantalizing matchups in the opening weekend prior to tournament play.

Below you’ll find the best matchups of the first five days of Summer League, including when they’ll play and where to watch in person and on TV (all times Pacific).

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Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns (Friday, July 6; 6:30 p.m.; Thomas & Mack Center; ESPN): The Mavs may or may not have Luka Doncic available by this point, but even so it’ll be Dennis Smith Jr. back in action after he lit up LVSL last year against Deandre Ayton, Josh Jackson, and Dragan Bender for the Summer League favorite Suns. If Doncic plays, this will be wild, but even if he’s out, this is going to be a fun game.

New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks (Saturday, July 7; 2:30 p.m.; T&M; ESPN): Trae Young and John Collins will go up against Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox in the undercard to Saturday’s main event. This will be fascinating to see if Young can shake off a rough start to Summer League, plus we’ll get to see how Knox will fare in his Knicks debut.

Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings (Saturday, July 7; 4:30 p.m.; T&M; ESPN): Deandre Ayton vs. Marvin Bagley III. Enough said.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Orlando Magic (Sunday, July 8; 6:30 p.m.; T&M; ESPN2): Jaren Jackson Jr. vs. Mo Bamba. The Grizz’s young star has looked good in Utah and everyone is fascinated to see what Bamba looks like against semi-NBA caliber competition.

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Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers (Sunday, July 8; 8:00 p.m.; Cox Pavilion; NBA TV): The first big-time game on NBA TV is Bagley’s second game going up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson running the backcourt for the Clippers.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers (Monday, July 9; 2:00 p.m.; CP; ESPN2): Collin Sexton against Aaron Holiday should be fun and is one of the best young point guard matchups of the weekend. Also, CEDI SZN.

Orlando Magic vs. Phoenix Suns (Monday, July 9; 6:30 p.m.; T&M; NBA TV): Bamba against Ayton is going to be loads of fun provided they both still get extended burn this late. I think Bamba will, Ayton might see minutes tapered if Phoenix feels they’ve seen enough.

Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies (Tuesday, July 10; T&M; ESPN2): Jaren Jackson Jr. going against Marvin Bagley III will be really really interesting and fun. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the better of the other for the ridiculous Summer League hot takes that will follow.

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