Starting 5, July 24: USA women defeat Germany, Best of NBA Summer League
Diana Taurasi is less than a week away from starting her quest for a sixth straight Olympic gold medal – and the USA’s eighth in a row.
THE LINEUP
What’s inside today’s edition?
USA Women Bounce Back: The USA won its final tune-up game before heading to France
USA Men’s Basketball Showcase In Photos: Our favorite frames from the five exhibition games
Summer League Standouts: From rookies to vets, these players impressed in Las Vegas
Summer League’s Best: The top plays and performances from the past two weeks in Vegas
NYvsNY Week 4: The summer tournament showcases some of the best young talent in NYC
1. USA WOMEN BOUNCE BACK WITH WIN OVER GERMANY
Aja Wilson (19 points, 14 rebounds) and Breanna Stewart (15 points, six rebounds, five assists) led USA over Germany, 84-57. Luisa Geiselsoder led Germany with 15 points and six rebounds, while Satou Sabally added eight points and five rebounds.
In their second and final tune-up game before heading to France, the US Women’s National Team defeated Germany 84-57 behind their dominant frontline and overall depth of talent. | Recap
- MVPs Lead The Way: The last two WNBA MVP winners – A’ja Wilson (19 pts, 14 reb, 2 blk) and Breanna Stewart (15 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) – were too much to handle for the Germans
- Stewart: “Playing alongside A’ja, we understand how we can have a tandem and a two-man action together. … We know we can space the floor, play inside-out, and it’s hard to match up for any other post player.”
- 3s For Everybody: A Diana Taurasi triple got the Americans on the board in the game’s opening minute. It was one of 11 3s on the day for the US as Stewart, Jackie Young, Jewell Loyd, Chelsa Gray and Sabrina Ionescu each hit a pair of 3s
- Unselfish Play: The US assisted on 27 of their 30 made buckets – a 90% assist rate. Eight players had at least two dimes, led by the forwards in Stewart (5) and Alyssa Thomas (8 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast)
Members of the US Men’s National Team – Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo and Tyrese Haliburton – were in the house to see the US Women get back on the winning track after falling to Team WNBA at the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix on Saturday.
- Loyd On The Win: “I feel awesome. Crowd was great. We had a little more energy today. Obviously, feels better getting a dub, so let’s go onto the next one.”
- Busy Schedule: Since WNBA All-Star on Saturday, the US Women traveled to London on Sunday, practiced on Monday, played Germany on Tuesday, will take a train to France on Thursday before Friday’s Opening Ceremony and next Monday’s group play opener
The US Women open Group C play on Monday, July 29 against Japan (3 ET), followed by Belgium on Thursday, Aug. 1 (3 ET) and a rematch with Germany on Sunday, Aug. 4 (11:15 a.m. ET).
- The Americans bring a 55-game win streak in Olympic play into the 2024 competition. The US Women have not lost an Olympic basketball game since Aug. 5, 1992 – that’s 11,676 days ago
2. USA MEN’S BASKETBALL SHOWCASE IN PHOTOS
USA Men’s Basketball departs for Paris today after concluding their Showcase on Monday with a win over Germany.
Before they take the big stage, let’s look back at the best frames from their 5-0 exhibition run.
LeBron James
Anthony Edwards
Stephen Curry
Anthony Davis
LeBron James and Anthony Edwards
Joel Embiid
USA squad
Anthony Edwards
3. SUMMER LEAGUE STANDOUTS: FROM ROOKIES TO VETS
The 20th year of NBA summer hoops in Las Vegas is officially in the books following Monday’s thrilling title game.
But before we turn the page on the NBA 2K25 Summer League, let’s take a look at some Vegas standouts.
Lottery Picks
- Reed Sheppard (Rockets): The No. 3 overall pick dazzled with 23 points in his Summer League debut and finished with an average of 20.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in four outings
- Donovan Clingan (Trail Blazers): The 7-foot-2 center out of UConn led the league with 4.3 blocks per game – 1.3 more than the next closest player – and 12.3 rebounds while adding 9.0 points in four contests
- Bub Carrington (Wizards): The final lottery selection showcased his versatility in Vegas; Among the top 14 picks, Carrington was the only player to finish in the top 5 in scoring (15.8), rebounding (7.4) and assists (5.2)
- More Standout Lottery Picks: Former G League Ignite teammates Matas Buzelis (CHI) and Ron Holland II (DET) shined in a head-to-head matchup and top picks Zaccharie Risacher (ATL) and Alex Sarr (WAS) looked sharp in their debut duel
- See how every lottery pick fared in Las Vegas here
Other Rookies
- Kel’el Ware (Heat): Capped by a win in the Summer League Final, Miami’s No. 15 pick was a force inside all tournament, averaging 18.0 points, 8.3 boards and 1.5 blocks in six games
- Tristan da Silva (Magic): Orlando’s first-rounder impressed with 17.7 ppg while shooting 60.7% from the field and 58.8% from 3
- Dalton Knecht (Lakers): Knecht (21.3 ppg, 5.3 rbp, 2.3 apg) finished fifth in scoring among qualified players (min. 3 games played)
- More Standout Rookies: Terrence Shannon Jr.’s (MIN) first game – and bucket – was one to remember, and second-rounder Kyle Filipowski closed strong in Utah’s finale
Veterans
- Jalen Wilson (Nets): The Summer League MVP finished third in scoring (21.8 ppg) among qualified players and knocked down more 3s than any other player in Las Vegas (22) while shooting 55.0% from deep
- Jordan Miller (Clippers): LA’s sophomore led all qualified players with 25.4 ppg on 54.9% shooting in five games; Wilson (47.3%) was the only other top-five scorer to shoot north of 47.0%
- GG Jackson II & Scotty Pippen Jr. (Grizzlies): Jackson II (22.0 ppg) and Pippen Jr. (21.5) finished second and fourth in scoring among qualified players, respectively, and Pippen Jr. finished second with 8.7 apg, leading Memphis to the Summer League Final
- More Standout Veterans: 2023-24 First-Team All-Rookies Jaime Jaquez Jr. (MIA) and Brandin Podziemski (GS) starred in their respective two games
4. SUMMER LEAGUE TOP PLAYS & PERFORMANCES
From dunks, dimes and denials, we have all the top plays from NBA 2K25 Summer League at your fingertips.
- Top 10 Plays: Game-winning OT buckets from Summer League MVP Jalen Wilson and Heat rookie Pelle Larsson lead the top plays of the summer. Memphis’ Jordan Miller’s steal and slam, and LA’s RayJ Dennis’ half-court buzzer beater also made the cut
- Top Dunks: Alondes Williams’ ‘Dunk of the Summer’ was one of 10 rim-rattling dunks from Las Vegas
- Top Assists: Alley-oops, no-look dimes, full-court connections and a spinning kick-out for a corner 3 highlight the summer’s top passes
- Every Highlight: Get comfortable and check out 25 minutes of the best Summer League moments
30+ Point Games: Five players went for 30+ points in Las Vegas led by Bulls’ two-way player DJ Steward (37) and a perfect shooting night from Charlotte’s Matt Morgan (36).
- DJ Steward (Bulls): 37 pts, 7 ast vs. Hawks
- Matt Morgan (Hornets): 36 pts, 11-11 FG, 7 3s vs. Blazers
- Jalen Wilson (Nets): 33 pts, 10 reb, vs. Magic
- Julian Strawther (Nuggets): 32 pts, 5 ast vs. Raptors
- Kevin Knox II (Warriors): 31 pts, 11 reb vs. Heat
Triple-Double: Pippen Jr. became the sixth player to record a triple-double in Summer League history.
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Grizzlies): 23 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast vs. Clippers
10+ Assist Games: Wolves rookie Rob Dillingham had the top playmaking game in Las Vegas with a dozen dimes in his summer finale.
- Rob Dillingham (Timberwolves): 25 pts, 12 ast vs. Magic
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Grizzlies): 29 pts, 11 ast vs. Heat
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Grizzlies): 17 pts, 11 ast vs. Pelicans
- Isaiah Stevens (Heat): 9 pts, 11 ast vs. Celtics
- Grayson Murphy (Lakers): 5 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast vs. Bulls
- Keon Johnson (Nets): 12 pts, 10 ast vs. Magic
- Hunter Maldonado (Thunder): 13 pts, 10 ast vs. Suns
- Zavier Simpson (Hornets): 15 pts, 10 ast vs. Knicks
5. NYvsNY WEEK 4 FROM DYCKMAN PARK
NBA summer league action has wrapped up, but the high school circuit rolls on.
Nike’s NYvsNY tournament pits the top summer leagues from across NYC against one another in weekly outdoor games, showcasing some of the best talent the city has to offer.
Since its inception in 2017, NYvsNY has featured several future NBA players and welcomed current NBA superstars courtside (including Jalen Brunson earlier this month), establishing itself as an elite event not just in New York City, but nationwide.
On Tuesday, The City That Never Sleeps saw fireworks at the famous Dyckman Park.
- 4 The Lead: Tai Turnage converts a go-ahead four-point play with 6.4 seconds left
- Steal & Slam: Ashton Reynolds gets the steal and rocks the rim at the other end
- Clutch Gene: Jermel Thomas drains a deep pull-up 3 to tie the game in the 4th quarter
- Game-Winner: Danny Carbuccia calls game in the night cap with a contested triple
- Week 4 Results: See Tuesday’s game recaps and box scores
