NBA summer league 2023: News, schedule and scenes

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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Summer league has officially tipped off.

Top draft picks like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson and Brandon Millermake their NBA debuts with their respective teams, while some lesser known players fight for a regular-season roster spot.

There are three tournaments running through July -- the California Classic in Sacramento (July 3 and 5), the Salt Lake City league (July 3, 5 and 6), and the NBA 2K24 league in Las Vegas (July 7-17).

Miller saw his first piece of NBA action in The California Classic as hisCharlotte Hornetstook on a Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs Monday night. Joining the Spurs and Hornets in Sacramento are the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs expect Wembanyama to play in Las Vegas.

In Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazzshowcased their three first-round picks in Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh. Oklahoma City Thunder fans got another look at Chet Holmgren, the 2022 No. 2 pick who injured his ankle in last year's summer league, which kept him out the entire 2022-23 season. The Memphis Grizzlies and the Philadelphia 76ers round out the teams playing in Utah.

Where to watch NBA summer league and how to find scores?

All games will be broadcast between ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and NBA TV. Please see the daily schedule below for game-by-game channels.

Boxscores and stats from all summer league games can be found here.

Summer league news and analysis

Notable players in their summer league debuts

Victor Wembanyama is anticipated to make his summer league debut on July 7 against the Charlotte Hornets and Brandon Miller. Wembanyama has been one of the most talked about prospects in recent NBA history. Ahead of his first game, here are some of the other notable players to make their summer league debuts.

Kobe Bryant -- July 13, 1996

Not quite the summer league as it is known today, Bryant scored 27 points in his debut at the Summer Pro League in 1996 against the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers lost 123-113, but after the game, Alvin Gentry said of Bryant, "I have never seen a better player at his age at his position."

LeBron James-- July 8, 2003

After going No. 1 overall in the 2003 NBA draft and coming straight out of high school, James had plenty of hype. In his debut, James finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a 27-point victory against the Orlando Magic.

Kevin Durant -- July 6, 2007

Kevin Durant recorded 18 points, one rebound and zero assists in his debut with the Seattle SuperSonics. The Dallas Mavericks won the game 77-66 as Durant shot only 5-of-17 from the field.

Derrick Rose -- July 7, 2008

In a battle between the top-two picks from the 2008 NBA draft, Derrick Rose had 10 points and four assists in his debut with the Chicago Bulls.

Blake Griffin -- July 13, 2009

After winning the Wooden Award, AP Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year in his sophomore season at Oklahoma. Griffin declared for the NBA draft and was taken with the top selection by the LA Clippers.

In his debut, Griffin recorded 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, along with 12 rebounds. Griffin went on to win the summer league MVP.

Lonzo Ball -- July 7, 2017

There was plenty of buzz prior to Lonzo Ball's first game with the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 2 pick out of UCLA. He struggled in his debut in a loss to the LA Clippers, recording five points on 2-of-15 shooting (1-11 on three-pointers), along with five assists.

Ball rebounded quickly, recording two triple-doubles and 36 points in another contest during summer league. Over the past 20 seasons, Ball is the only player with multiple triple-doubles at Las Vegas summer league. He also won the summer league MVP.

Zion Williamson-- July 5, 2019

It was not a long debut for Williamson, but it was certainly memorable in a New Orleans Pelicans win against the New York Knicks. Williamson scored 11 points in nine minutes before leaving with an injury, highlighted by his steal against Kevin Knox which led to a dunk. The game was also cut short due to an earthquake.

-- Matt Williams, ESPN Stats & Information

Salt Lake City Summer League

Delta Center; Salt Lake City, Utah

(All times EST)

July 3

Memphis 94, Philadelphia 92

Oklahoma City vs. Utah, 9 p.m., NBA TV

July 5

Memphis vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m., NBA TV

Philadelphia vs. Utah, 9 p.m., NBA TV

July 6

Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Memphis vs. Utah, 9 p.m., NBA TV

California Classic Summer League

Golden 1 Center; Sacramento, California

(All times EST)

July 3

Miami 107, L.A. Lakers 90

San Antonio 98, Charlotte 77

Golden State vs. Sacramento, 10p.m., ESPN2

July 5

Golden State vs. Charlotte 6p.m., ESPN2

San Antonio vs. L.A. Lakers 8p.m., ESPN2

Miami vs. Sacramento 10 p.m., ESPN2

NBA 2K24 Summer League

Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center; Las Vegas

(All time EST)

July 7

New Orleans vs. Minnesota, 4:30 p.m., NBA TV

Denver vs. Milwaukee, 5 p.m., ESPNU

Chicago vs. Toronto, 6:30 p.m., NBA TV

Portland vs. Houston, 7 p.m., ESPN

Cleveland vs. Brooklyn, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV

Charlotte vs. San Antonio, 9 p.m., ESPN

Sacramento vs. Atlanta, 10:30 p.m., NBA TV

Golden State vs. L.A. Lakers, 11:00 p.m., ESPN

July 8

Miami vs. Boston, 3 p.m., NBA TV

Dallas vs. Oklahoma City, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

New York vs. Philadelphia, 5 p.m., NBA TV

Detroit vs. Orlando, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

Memphis vs. Chicago, 7 p.m., NBA TV

Indiana vs. Washington, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Milwaukee vs. Phoenix, 9 p.m., NBA TV

LA Clippers vs. Utah, 10 p.m., ESPN2

July 9

Toronto vs. Cleveland, 3:30 p.m., NBA TV

L.A. Lakers vs. Charlotte, 4 p.m., ESPN2

New York vs. Brooklyn, 5:30 p.m., NBA TV

Detroit vs. Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Boston vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

San Antonio vs. Portland, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Atlanta vs. Denver, 9:30 p.m., NBA TV

New Orleans vs. Golden State, 10:00 p.m., ESPN2

July 10

Memphis vs. Cleveland, 6 p.m., ESPNews

Phoenix vs. Miami, 6:30 p.m., NBA TV

Philadelphia vs. Dallas, 8 p.m., ESPNU

Indiana vs. Orlando, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV

Minnesota vs. Utah, 10 p.m., ESPNU

Sacramento vs. LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m., NBA TV

July 11

Brooklyn vs. Milwaukee, 6 p.m., ESPNU

Houston vs. Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., NBA TV

Phoenix vs. New Orleans, 8:00 p.m., ESPN2

Portland vs. Charlotte, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV

Chicago vs. Sacramento, 10:00 p.m., ESPN2

Washington vs. San Antonio, 10:30 p.m., NBA TV

July 12

LA Clippers vs. Memphis, 3:30 p.m., NBA TV

Minnesota vs. Atlanta, 4 p.m., ESPN2

Golden State vs. Dallas, 5:30 p.m., NBA TV

Toronto vs. Detroit, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Oklahoma City vs. Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

New York vs. Orlando, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Denver vs. Utah, 9:30 p.m., NBA TV

L.A. Lakers vs. Boston, 10 p.m., ESPN2

July 13

Cleveland vs. Chicago, 3 p.m., ESPN2

Philadelphia vs. Atlanta, 3:30 p.m., NBA TV

Brooklyn vs. Toronto, 5 p.m., ESPN2

Miami vs. Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m., NBA TV

Houston vs. Golden State, 7 p.m., ESPN

Charlotte vs. New Orleans, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV

Portland vs. Orlando, 9 p.m., ESPN2

Minnesota vs. Sacramento, 9:30 p.m., NBA TV

July 14

LA Clippers vs. Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m., NBA TV

Oklahoma City vs. Washington, 5 p.m., ESPNU

Dallas vs. Indiana, 6:30 p.m., NBA TV

Boston vs. New York, 7 p.m., ESPN2

San Antonio vs. Detroit, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV

Miami vs. vs. Denver, 9 p.m., ESPN2

Memphis vs. L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m., NBA TV

Utah vs. Phoenix, 11 p.m., ESPN2

July 15

Quarterfinals

July 16

Semifinals

July 17

Championship

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