This year’s Las Vegas summer league features a mix of top incoming rookies, second-year first-rounders and young pros seeking bigger roles, according to the team-by-team preview. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer headline the rookie class, while Collin Murray-Boyles, Khaman Maluach and Yang Hansen represent a deep group of 2025 first-round picks. Contending clubs such as the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs will also use the event to evaluate whether several prospects are ready for rotation minutes.
Atlanta’s player to watch is 7-foot center Henri Veesaar, who unexpectedly fell to the 52nd pick. Questions emerged about whether he should have returned to UNC rather than entering the draft. At the predraft combine in May, Veesaar told CBSSports.com that “getting thrown into the fire is the best way to learn.” He faces an uphill battle for minutes in a crowded Hawks big-man rotation that includes 2026 first-round pick Zuby Ejiofor.
Boston will monitor 20-year-old Hugo Gonzalez, a 2025 first-round pick who averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds as a rookie. Gonzalez drew trade-season attention amid reports the Celtics would not include him in a potential deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He posted a plus-11.9 net rating in 74 games, the highest mark for any rookie who logged at least 100 minutes, and Boston could use summer league to assess his capabilities in a larger offensive role after Gonzalez started for Spain in recent FIBA World Cup qualifying games.
Brooklyn’s focus will be on Mikel Brown Jr., a scoring point guard taken sixth overall and the Nets’ highest draft pick since Derrick Favors in 2010. Brown, a Louisville product, missed time as a freshman because of a back injury that limited him to 21 games. With Brooklyn finishing 30th in offense last season, the Nets plan to see how Brown performs in volume scoring and running the offense in Las Vegas.
Charlotte returns Ryan Kalkbrenner after he helped the Hornets win the 2025 Las Vegas summer league title alongside Kon Knueppel. The pair ranked first and second in rookie win shares and aided Charlotte’s trip to the play-in tournament. Kalkbrenner, a second-round pick from Creighton, figures to play a larger role as the Hornets retooled this summer, trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges while re-signing Coby White and adding Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Chicago is expected to get its first look at Caleb Wilson in Las Vegas; Wilson will take the court for his first action since fracturing his left hand in February, according to the preview.
