2025 NBA summer league superlatives: Promising rookies, impact veterans

After a down twelvemonth for the 2024 NBA rookie class, during which second-rounder Bronny James was the astir anticipated draught prime to play successful the NBA summertime league successful Las Vegas, the excitement was backmost earlier this period arsenic No. 1 prime Cooper Flagg and different apical selections from the touted 2025 people took the tribunal with their caller teams.

Bouncing backmost from a pugnacious shooting show (5-of-21) successful his Dallas Mavericks debut connected Thursday, Flagg scored 31 points Saturday earlier the team unopen him down -- tying John Wall (who was successful attendance) for the astir scored by a No. 1 prime astatine summertime league. No. 2 prime Dylan Harper debuted for the San Antonio Spurs successful the aforesaid game, scoring 16 points successful 20 minutes.

With summertime league already implicit for Flagg and different apical rookies up of Sunday's title game, let's recap the enactment -- excluding performances successful the abstracted California Classic and Salt Lake City summertime leagues that preceded each 30 teams arriving successful Vegas -- by taking a look astatine immoderate of the standouts successful respective antithetic categories. Plus, we dive into what lies up for the apical performers successful 2025-26.

Best rookies successful Vegas

1. Nique Clifford, Sacramento Kings
2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
3. Liam McNeeley, Charlotte Hornets

The 23-year-old Clifford was among the astir polished rookies successful this year's people aft 5 years of assemblage experience, averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists successful Vegas. Given however overmuch of Clifford's breakout arsenic an upperclassman was related to shooting, it's encouraging to spot him spell 9-of-17 (53%) from the NBA 3-point line. It's not realistic to support that up, but his savvy playmaking volition beryllium a spot truthful agelong arsenic opponents respect his jumper.

By design, Flagg's relation successful summertime league was much akin to what we usually spot from second-year players getting force-fed further opportunities connected the ball. Playing arsenic a constituent forward, Flagg had the third-highest usage complaint frankincense far. He'll request to tighten his grip to play that benignant of relation successful NBA games, but helium showed the quality to enactment businesslike astatine precocious measurement against the Spurs, getting to the foul enactment a singular 13 times.

McNeeley has frankincense acold outplayed teammate Kon Knueppel, the No. 4 pick, who bounced backmost aft a unsmooth debut. Taken 29th, McNeeley had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists -- amended than his vocation precocious successful rebounds astatine UConn, and 1 of his apical assistance totals -- successful his debut. McNeeley made 3 3-pointers successful some games helium played, encouraging aft helium changeable 32% from the assemblage line.

Most promising rookies

1. Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
2. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
3. Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards

Flagg's imaginable speaks for itself. But Harper was 1 of the 2 players with an adjacent higher usage complaint (39%), and though his ratio buckled nether that load (36% shooting, including 1-of-8 connected 3s), we saw plentifulness of the skills that made him the No. 2 pick. When Harper is playing with the talented teammates who sat courtside astatine the Thomas & Mack Center, including Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, helium mightiness person much assists than the 2.0 per crippled helium averaged -- and less changeable attempts.

No. 3 prime VJ Edgecombe showed plentifulness of committedness successful his debut astatine the Salt Lake City summertime league (28 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists), but since we're including lone Vegas, I'll springiness No. 6 prime Tre Johnson the borderline here. Johnson's size, including a wingspan measured longer than 6-foot-10 astatine the combine, separates him from score-first shooting guards who can't get disconnected their changeable arsenic easily. He changeable 69% connected 2s and 5-of-11 from 3, looking creaseless successful the process.

Most intriguing rookie

Yang Hansen, Portland Trail Blazers

After Flagg, nary rookie drew much eyeballs than Hansen, the highest draught prime (No. 16) from China since Yi Jianlian successful 2007. Hansen's passing from the perimeter stands retired astatine 7-foot-1. He had 10 assists successful 3 games, with respective of them being of the item variety. Hansen besides showed amended changeable blocking than expected (2.0 per game) and went 4-of-11 from 3-point range. He indispensable amended his rebounding, having averaged conscionable 4.0 per game, but helium didn't look similar a scope during summertime league.

Best undrafted rookie Eli John N'Diaye, Atlanta Hawks

N'Diaye, a autochthonal of Senegal who has played with Spanish powerfulness Real Madrid, signed a two-way declaration with the Hawks aft going undrafted. He played conscionable 1 crippled successful Vegas earlier suffering a wrist injury, but helium had 12 points and six boards successful 21 minutes.

Slowest-starting rookie

Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans' elephantine frontcourt of first-round picks Yves Missi and Derik Queen, some chiefly centers, didn't permission overmuch country for Fears to run offensively. Still, his shoot-first benignant raised questions astir his quality to marque an contiguous contribution. Fears sported a usage complaint northbound of 30%, including 5-of-21 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers. He made conscionable 3 assists successful arsenic galore games to commencement summertime league -- with 16 turnovers -- earlier his strongest crippled against the Oklahoma City Thunder: 22 points connected 8-of-15 shooting, 6 assists and conscionable 4 turnovers. That's the Fears New Orleans hoped it would get astatine No. 7.

Best veterans

1. Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz
2. Terrence Shannon Jr., Minnesota Timberwolves
3. Nae'Qwan Tomlin, Cleveland Cavaliers

The starring scorer astatine summertime league with 29.3 PPG, Filipowski besides delivered a game-tying dunk successful the last seconds of overtime against San Antonio, lone to beryllium outdone by Riley Minix's buzzer-beating 3 to triumph it. Having averaged 21 minutes per crippled arsenic a rookie connected a rebuilding team, Filipowski isn't precisely excessively bully for summertime league, but he's arsenic skilled offensively arsenic anyone successful action. Filipowski changeable 56% wide contempt attempting 23 3-pointers successful 3 games, which helium made astatine a 39% clip.

Shannon, who is expected to play a larger relation aft the departure of Nickeil Alexander-Walker successful escaped agency, looked the portion successful Vegas, averaging 22.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 5.0 APG. Shannon's quickness and spot let him to get to the basket, and helium changeable 10-of-26 (38.5%) connected 3s aft hitting 35.5% beyond the arc arsenic a rookie for the Timberwolves.

Tomlin played conscionable 63 minutes successful the NBA past season, finishing the play connected a two-way woody with Cleveland. The Memphis merchandise stuffed the stat expanse during summertime league, averaging 20.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 3.8 APG. Perhaps astir intriguingly, Tomlin made 9 3-pointers successful 4 games. He changeable conscionable 34% beyond the arc successful the G League.

Best escaped agent

Daniss Jenkins, Detroit Pistons

As an undrafted rookie, Jenkins parlayed a beardown show successful Vegas past summertime into a two-way declaration with the Pistons, but helium played conscionable 23 minutes successful the regular season. Now a restricted escaped agent, Jenkins is inactive with Detroit and made beingness hard for the Rockets' Reed Sheppard connected Sunday, holding him to 6-of-19 shooting with six turnovers. Offensively, Jenkins was effectual successful creating for others, signaling 26 assists and conscionable 7 turnovers. He struggled with his shooting (43% overall, 33% connected 3s) successful the G League past play but merits a longer look successful the NBA.

Jenkins' play is much apt to construe to an NBA relation than the precocious scoring by the Spurs' David Jones-Garcia, who averaged 24.3 PPG implicit his archetypal 3 games with an tremendous usage rate. Charles Bassey, who led each players with 11.3 RPG done 3 games, besides stood retired with the Boston Celtics aft playing the past 3 seasons with San Antonio.