The NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas always promises the best prospects and matchups for fans. Teams are getting a real first look at many of the prospects they decided to invest in during the 2024 NBA draft.
With Saturday and Sunday bringing a whopping 16 games total, here are the summer league games that will feature the best prospect matchups.
Las Vegas NBA Summer League Matchups: Part Two
Saturday, July 13th
Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks: 4:30 p.m. ET
This game is mostly significant due to the fact it will be everyone’s first chance to see Matas Buzelis perform. Buzelis’ draft day slide to pick eleven after widely being considered a top five talent makes for an intriguing storyline. He’s playing for his hometown team now however, and he will look to prove the doubters wrong. Buzelis is a six-foot-ten wing with polished offensive skills. He can shoot it at all three levels and is a fluid athlete in space. He’s also shown some promise as a weakside shot blocker. If he puts it all together, he can become a special player.
For the Bucks, seeing how their rookies AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith perform will be paramount. Johnson’s selection at 23 confused many as he’s seen as a developmental prospect who won’t compete immediately in the NBA. A good NBA summer league debut for the wiry guard may help to change fans’ minds though. For Smith, he has more experience having played with the G-League Ignite this past season. He’s a smooth, lefty forward who will hope to prove that he can be a rotational big man for the Bucks’ NBA roster.
Charlotte Hornets vs. New York Knicks: 5 p.m. ET
This is another instance in which one player will carry the majority of the intrigue for the game. This is of course the sixth overall pick, Tidjane Salaun, for the Charlotte Hornets. He’s widely regarded as a high-upside pick due to him still being early in his development as a player. Salaun is a lanky six-foot-ten wing who has shown a clean shooting strike combined with solid athleticism. At first glance, teams will be reminded a lot of Michael Porter’s athletic profile as a pro comparison. He’s still a project pick in some eyes, but he’s flashed enough to suggest he may be further along in his development than previously believed. A great summer league performance could certainly sway people’s opinions in the right direction.
The Knicks will be more of a ‘committee-styled’ prospect approach throughout summer league. They will have three 2024 draft picks on the roster in Pacome Diadet, Tyler Kolek, and Kevin McCullar. Diadet is more of your draft and stash type of player, while Kolek and McCullar are older rookies who will push for roster spots. Diadet was the lone first round pick, and he’s a six-foot-nine wing with big upside and mobility. He’s shown good perimeter shooting ability while also creating his own shots at all three levels. Kolek is a traditional floor general at point guard, and McCullar is a versatile wing defender with improved perimeter shooting.
Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 7 p.m. ET
The Detroit Pistons surprised a lot of people by selecting Ron Holland with the fifth overall pick in the draft. He’s a six-foot-eight wing who played with the G-League Ignite. Holland’s NBA-ready size and athleticism at six-foot-eight should translate well to filling different roles for any NBA team. He’s an explosive athlete who may be able to guard positions one through four at the NBA level. The main thing people will keep an eye out for on Holland will be his perimeter shooting!
For the 76ers, they are headlined by rookies Jared McCain and Adem Bona alongside sophomore Ricky Council IV. McCain had a great debut in Salt Lake City posting 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists. His latest game saw him go just 1-9 from the field however, so he’ll look to get back on track. Bona has also flashed positive attributes blocking shots and catching highlight lob dunks. It’s the sophomore Council IV however that’s taken on the leading role for this summer league team. He scored 29 and 20 points respectively in the 76ers two games in Salt Lake City.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trailblazers: 9 p.m. ET
This summer league game will feature two of the draft’s best prospects. The Spurs fourth overall selection Stephon Castle will face the Blazers seventh overall pick Donovan Clingan. Both players were teammates on UCONN’s national championship team this past season and were a force on the floor together. Now they will be on opposing teams for the first time, although this won’t be Castle’s first summer league game.
Castle is off to a good start having played in the California Classic, and led in scoring with 18 points in the Spurs previous game against Team China. Castle is a tall lead guard at six-foot-six. His physical tools allow him to be either a point guard with good size or a wing with good ball-handling ability. Castle’s defensive excellence in college has also been well noted.
For Clingan, he’s a big man who will look to control the paint and be an immediate interior presence in the NBA. With Zach Edey’s dominating summer league debut, a lot of eyes may be on Clingan to perform similarly now having been picked two spots earlier. Clingan is a seven-foot-two big man who won two national championships in two years with the Huskies.
Sunday, July 14th
Houston Rockets vs. Washington Wizards: 6 p.m. ET
All eyes will be on Alex Sarr and Reed Sheppard for this matchup between the number two and three overall picks, respectively. Sheppard will have the more experienced summer league roster, but Sarr will have two other 2024 first round picks alongside him.
Sheppard is a knockdown shooter who was a statistical darling in his lone year at Kentucky. He averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 steals, and 4.5 assists per game at Kentucky while shooting 52.1 percent from deep. That 52.1 percent is also accompanied by 4.4 attempts per game from beyond the arc. If Sheppard can show playmaking and a good handle of certain point guard responsibilities, he may even outperform his number three overall selection.
For Sarr, fans will want to see him dominate on the offensive end with skill and perimeter shooting. On defense, his archetype as an extremely mobile big man will hope to bother Houston’s guards both in the paint and on the perimeter. He’ll also be accompanied by two other first-round picks this year in Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George. This rookie trio should be a great matchup against Houston’s Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, and 2022 lottery pick AJ Griffin.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Atlanta Hawks: 8 p.m. ET
The Spurs are back on the dock as Castle will look to face-off against number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. These are two of the best prospects in this draft class, and this summer league game will be circled across the league. For most of the weekend’s matchups thus far, the prospects fans want to see haven’t often played the same relative positions. It will be interesting though to see if the Spurs let Castle’s tenacious defense take on the challenge of guarding Risacher on the wing.
Risacher is a six-foot-nine French wing that will hope to be a do it all wing for the Hawks. He can play in transition, guard multiple positions, shoot from the perimeter, and provide some secondary playmaking. Hawks fans will want to see Risacher master certain elements of his game though rather than just be solid at everything. His biggest areas of improvement come in the shot-creation and playmaking departments.
As for the supporting casts, Castle will have the help of sophomore Sidy Cissoko and fellow rookie Harrison Ingram. Both are big forward prospects who project as valuable role players in either the frontcourt or backcourt. For Risacher, he will mainly be accompanied by sophomore Kobe Bufkin. Bufkin was a lottery pick in 2023 but only played 17 NBA games with the Hawks. He’s a great combo-guard prospect though and should help carry the playmaking burden.
