1) The top four are as good as advertised
The hype heading into this year’s draft was tremendous, and through the small sample size of 10 or so days in the Las Vegas summer heat, this year’s class has lived up to its billing.
Advertisement
AJ Dybantsa, now a Washington Wizard, looked every bit the No 1 overall pick in his Summer League debut, where he bested the player drafted directly behind him, Darryn Peterson. This was notable, as Peterson had won the pair’s previous head to head matchups, and the noise was starting to swell that perhaps the Wizards had made the wrong selection with the No 1 pick. But Dybantsa showed his high ceiling, looking every bit the crafty and athletic offensive engine he has been touted as. Peterson, to his credit, also had a solid Summer League outing, especially in the California Classic (the mini version of the league that takes place before the big shebang in Las Vegas), showcasing his excellent shot creation skills.
The third overall pick, Cameron Boozer, who many trendy media folks picked to go first, showed exactly why he’s attracted so many fans while leading his team to the NBA Summer League Final: he’s not particularly flashy or exciting, rather more of a high level metronome. Boozer is a super smart, strong, and mature offensive hub who may not put butts in seats, but he really understands how to play basketball at an NBA level.
And Caleb Wilson, drafted fourth by the Chicago Bulls, may have seen his stock rise the most of the four during his time in Vegas. He scored a scintillating 35 points (with seven threes) in his Vegas debut, and if that shooting can hold up in the NBA, his athleticism, shot creation and swagger make him a bona fide franchise cornerstone, the kind of guy who can finally poster dunk the Bulls out of mediocrity.
2) Yaxel Lendeborg is NBA ready
Before Lendeborg was an NBA Summer League champion and Summer League Finals MVP with the Golden State Warriors, who drafted him with the 11th overall pick this year, he was winning an NCAA championship with the Michigan Wolverines. Simply put, the guy is a winner. With his size (6ft 9in, with a 7ft 4in wingspan), skillset (a swiss army knife with a high basketball IQ) and personality (not afraid of the big moment, swagger for days), he most likely would have gone even higher had he not been 23 years old at the time of the draft in June. In some ways, though, his age is an asset; especially for a team as win-now (or, rather, win-yesterday) as the Warriors. Lendeborg is ready for the NBA fresh out of the box, he’s smart and savvy and the epitome of plug and play. On top of all of this, he’s a walking pull-quote: he told ESPN’s Ben Golliver of the Grizzlies’ blown lead in the championship game: “Man, their butts got tight. They puckered up, you know what I mean? Some of us are built for the moment and some aren’t.”
Advertisement
3) The Lakers may have in-house solutions
The most glaring roster hole after an aggressive summer of moves for the Los Angeles Lakers (all five starters from game one of their first round series against the Houston Rockets this playoffs are gone) is at the wing/forward. While rumors are still aflutter in regards to players like the Hawks’ Jonathan Kuminga and Dallas’s PJ Washington, the Lakers’ time in Las Vegas showed heartening signs that they may have rotation-caliber wings at home. To start with, Cameron Carr, who fell to Los Angeles all the way down at No 24 in this year’s draft, looks like he may be a steal who should have gone in the lottery. He showed athleticism and shooting that the Lakers have lacked, and seemed right at home in pseudo NBA level competition. Adou Thiero, the freak athlete 2025 draft pick who spent most of his rookie campaign recovering from injury, also seemed to be making substantial strides.
But the surprise of the week was Arthur Kaluma, who spent last season with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate. He had a 34-point game against the Mavericks, and generally seemed prime to emerge as the 3 & D wing the Lakers are looking to shore up their rotation with. While the team fell short of making the Summer League Final, they have to be feeling pretty good about what they have in-house. They went 4-1 in Vegas, only losing to the ultimate champion Warriors in the semi-finals.
4) The Bucks reset is off to a good start
Milwaukee have had a rough go of things in recent years, to say the least. Their fence-swing for Damian Lillard went about as poorly as it could have, culminating in an achilles tear and the decision to waive and stretch his contract. Then came the somewhat inexplicable decision to throw the bag at center Myles Turner. Another year of Giannis Antetokounmpo injuries later, and it was finally time to face the music: the Bucks traded the Greek star to the Miami Heat, who had long courted him. As much as it hurt to break up with their multi-time MVP sweetheart, it was for the best for all parties. Hope that there are sunnier days ahead came in the form of guard Brayden Burries, who the Bucks selected No 10 overall in this year’s draft. He was one of the standouts in Vegas, averaging 23.5 points (with 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists), and putting a cherry on top of his outing with a game-winning bucket in his final game. Burries looks like he could end up being the best of what was a crowded guard class in the mid lottery, scoring efficiently and showing poise in his time in the desert.
Advertisement
5) Meleek Thomas may have been the steal of the draft
At the time of writing, the jury is still out on whether or not one LeBron James, the best thing to ever happen to sports in the Cleveland metro area, will be back for a third rodeo in a Cavaliers uniform. But regardless of that outcome, there are silver linings to be found for Cavs fans this July. Thomas, a guard out of Arkansas, was the surprise standout of the week, averaging just over 27 points (!) at 50% (!) from the field. He may struggle to find substantial rotation minutes on the Cavs next year, as they just gave Donovan Mitchell a tremendous amount of money and are allegedly planning to bring back James Harden on a more team-friendly contract, but Thomas was the best player on the floor in several of his contests in Vegas, and for the 34th overall pick, that’s pretty damned remarkable. Thomas didn’t look out of place among his higher drafted peers; if anything, he was often the most confident among them. We may well look back on the 2026 draft and wonder how Cleveland snagged such a gem in the second round.
