The 2025 NBA Draft is officially in the books, so it’s time to turn to the next wave of the offseason, which will be heavy on free-agent signings, trades, and the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. Additionally, two separate summer leagues (California Classic and Salt Lake City Summer League) will serve as appetizers for the main event in Sin City, which starts on July 10.
The opening day of the summer league slate from Las Vegas is a good one. Seven games will be played simultaneously at Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center. The headliner will feature No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks face Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers in primetime.
No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs face No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe and the Philadelphia 76ers in the final game of Day 1 of the event, which will conclude July 20.
2025 NBA Draft team grades: Cooper Flagg earns an easy ‘A+’ for Mavericks; Nets drop ball despite five picks
David Cobb
Traditionally, the opening game of the summer league in Las Vegas features the No. 1 and 2 pick squaring off. While that isn’t the case this year, NBA fans won’t have to wait long to see that matchup, as the Spurs and Mavericks will play on July 12.
With the summer league just weeks away, here are five must-watch games and the full schedule for the event.
1. Mavericks vs. Lakers (July 10)
Why you should watch: The debut of Flagg, who is considered one of the best draft prospects this century, makes this the clear-cut best game of the event. Flagg will be making his summer league debut against the Lakers, a team that will feature Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, who was selected with the No. 55 pick last summer. The Mavericks (Flagg) and the Los Angeles Lakers (Adou Thiero) each made one selection in the draft. Thiero, a talented wing out of Arkansas, will headline the Lakers’ summer league roster alongside James. It’s also possible that Dalton Knecht — the No. 17 overall pick in last year’s draft — will also be on this roster. Flagg had one of the best one-and-done seasons in college basketball history. All eyes will be on the former Duke star next month.
2. Mavericks vs. Spurs (July 12)
Why you should watch: Traditionally, this matchup would’ve been the opener of the summer league. Instead, it will be the Mavs’ second summer league game. Flagg and his team will square off against Harper and the Spurs, who had one of the best draft hauls of any team. The Spurs not only landed Harper — the consensus second-best prospect in the class — but also Arizona wing Carter Bryant at pick No. 14. Bryant was someone who was trending as a potential top-10 pick, so for the Spurs to land him at 14 was great value. While summer league rosters aren’t finalized, this game could also feature Spurs guard Stephon Castle — the reigning Rookie of the Year winner. If Castle plays, this game will be even more intriguing.
Why you should watch: Outside of Flagg, the prospect who has talked about the most — for better or worse — is Ace Bailey. The star wing out of Rutgers had a very public draft process in the weeks leading up to the main event, which included his representation telling at least one team picking in the top five that he wouldn’t show up if he was selected, according to ESPN. Bailey was trending to the Washington Wizards at pick No. 6 the week before the draft. Instead, the Jazz selected him at No. 5. This game will be fun to watch for many reasons, but the main one is the matchup between Bailey and No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, who is arguably the best shooter in the class. The Hornets also added UConn’s Liam McNeeley, Duke’s Sion James and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner via the draft. Add in the intrigue of the matchup against Bailey, Jazz first-round pick Walter Clayton Jr. and the rest of the second and third-year players from Utah potentially participating, and you have must-see TV.
4. Nets vs. Wizards (July 13)
Why you should watch: All eyes were on the Brooklyn Nets during the first round of the draft. The Nets held five picks in the first round, and instead of consolidating those picks to move around the board, Brooklyn decided to stay pat at each selection. That means Brooklyn will have not one, not two, but five first-round rookies playing on its summer league team. The headliner of that group is BYU guard Egor Demin, who was selected with the No. 8 pick. The Nets also picked Drake Powell (North Carolina), Nolan Traore (France), Ben Saraf (Israel) and Danny Wolf (Michigan). On the other side, the Wizards made a splash by adding Texas star guard Tre Johnson and Illinois forward Will Riley in the first round. Johnson should be a sneaky contender to win MVP of the event. He was one of the best pure scorers and shooters in college basketball.
Why you should watch: The Suns entered the draft with one of the worst center rotations in the league. Within (quite literally two minutes), Phoenix traded for Mark Williams from Charlotte and drafted Khaman Malauch out of Duke. The latter addition was more of a surprise because it seemed likely that the Duke product wouldn’t be on the board at No. 10. The same can be said about the Suns’ other marquee draft addition: Saint Joseph’s Rasheer Fleming, who somehow slipped to No. 31. Sacramento was one of a handful of teams that received an ‘A’ draft grade after selecting Colorado State’s Nique Clifford at No. 24 and Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud at 42. Both players were considered mid-to-late first-round picks, so it turned out to be great value. Sacramento guard Devin Carter, the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft, didn’t participate in summer league last year after undergoing shoulder surgery shortly after being selected. This will be a fun matchup of players expected to contribute immediately for their respective teams during the 2025-26 campaign.
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