Starting 5, July 9: Summer ball tips in Utah, Olympic prep continues in Vegas
This LeBron-to-Ant dish and finish was one of many highlights from Team USA training camp in Vegas on Monday. Just one more day to see them in game action against Canada.
THE LINEUP
What’s inside today’s edition?
SLC Summer League Day 1: Our first look at the Jazz, Grizzlies, Thunder and Sixers
California Classic Resumes: Previewing today’s two games in Sacramento
Team USA: All-access at Monday’s practice, plus who should start for Team USA?
Global Olympic Prep: France and Germany split a pair of exhibitions in preparation for Paris
Olympians in Summer League: Throwing it back to when Team USA and global stars made their summer debuts
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Summer League continues in Sacramento and Salt Lake City …
Summer League action continues with two games in both Sacramento and Salt Lake City with a tip-off every hour on the hour beginning at 7 ET.
USA Basketball training camp continues in Las Vegas with Team USA’s first exhibition set for tomorrow against Canada (10:30 ET, FS1).
1. SIXERS, JAZZ GET FIRST WINS AT SLC SUMMER LEAGUE
Day one of the ninth-annual Salt Lake City Summer League is in the books after the home team closed the day with an overtime win. Let’s dive into both games, which gave us our first look at Utah, Memphis, Philly and Oklahoma City. | Best of SLC Day 1 | Standouts from SLC Day 1
Sixers 102, Thunder 92: Ricky Council IV scored a game-high 29 points with five 3s – including 17 straight Sixers’ points in the 4th quarter – to lead Philly to a 102-92 win over OKC in both team’s opening game in Salt Lake City. | Recap | All-Access
- Rookie Sixers: No. 16 pick Jared McCain (15 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl) and No. 41 Adem Bona (7 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk) shined for Philly in their first summer action
- Raining 3s: Adam Flagler scored a team-high 18 points while splashing six 3s for OKC
- OKC Rooks Stuff Stat Sheet: Dillon Jones (the 26th pick acquired via trade) had 9 pts, 10 reb and 7 ast, while Ajay Mitchell (the 38th pick) racked up 14 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk and a pair of 3s
Jazz 97, Grizzlies 95 (OT): Keyonte George (30 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) hit the two game-winning free throws to get Utah to the target score of 97 in an overtime win over Memphis. | Recap | All-Access
- Edey Forces OT: Extra time was needed because Memphis rookie Zach Edey tipped in a missed free throw to tie the game with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. The ninth pick in the 2024 Draft finished with 14 pts, 15 reb and 4 blk in his summer debut
- Jazz Rook Delivers: Isaiah Collier (29th pick) finished with 14 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast and 2 3s in 29 minutes off the bench
- Rookies’ First Buckets: Cody Williams euroed through the defense for his first summer points; Collier connected from deep to get on the board; Edey caught a pass in traffic and finished off glass; Jaylen Wells showed off the touch with the high-arcing shot
2. CALIFORNIA CLASSIC RESUMES IN SAC
After a day off, the California Classic resumes with a pair of games to close out the Sacramento portion of the two-city event.
Spurs vs. Team China (8 ET, NBA TV)
- Stephon Castle (Spurs): The No. 4 pick in the 2024 Draft made his Summer League debut (12 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast) against Charlotte on Saturday, but was held out of Sunday’s game against Sacramento. How will he close out his first summer run?
- Harrison Ingram (Spurs): After a slow start in his debut (3 pts, 1-6 FG, 7 reb) against Charlotte, the 48th pick in the 2024 Draft tied for the team-high with 11 points against Sacramento
Hornets vs. Kings 1 (10 ET, NBA TV)
- Roster Update (Kings 1): The Kings are shaking up their rosters for the final two games of the California Classic
- The following players will play in Sacramento tonight as Kings 1 tries to go 3-0: Fardaws Aimaq, Adonis Arms, Kenan Blackshear, Antoine Davis, Jordan Ford, Xavier Sneed
- Jake Stephens (Hornets): Has scored 14 pts off the bench in each of Charlotte’s opening two wins – a 32-point win over the Spurs on Saturday and a 31-point win over China on Sunday
Lookahead: The California Classic concludes Wednesday in San Francisco, with the event closing with the Battle of NorCal as the Warriors and Kings 2 play for the Mitch Richmond Trophy, named for the Hall of Famer that impacted both franchises.
- Heat vs. Lakers (7 ET, ESPN2): After being held out of Sunday’s game due to trace swelling in his left knee, Bronny James is expected to play in L.A.’s final game before heading to Las Vegas
- Bronny had four points in his summer debut, while fellow draftee Dalton Knecht is averaging 12 ppg through two games
- Kings 2 vs. Warriors (10 ET, NBA TV): The two host teams meet to close out the sixth-annual California Classic. The Dubs are 2-0 entering the finale, while Kings 2 is 1-1
- Roster Update (Kings 2): The following players will play in San Francisco on Wednesday: Isaiah Crawford, Boogie Ellis, Keon Ellis, Colby Jones, Isaac Jones, Mason Jones, Drew Timme
3. USAB TRAINING CAMP: WHO SHOULD BE IN TEAM USA’S STARTING 5?
Team USA continued its training camp in Las Vegas and our all-access cameras were rolling to share some of the best moments.
- The Champ Is Here: Jayson Tatum – and his fresh cut – arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday to join the team for Monday’s training session
- Getting Their Reps: Check out highlights of Monday’s scrimmages between Team USA and the Select Team
- Dropping Dimes: The ball movement was on full display Monday, with this LeBron-to-Steph-to-Ant combo for the open 3-point splash
- Select Team Shows Out: Jalen Duren had frequent meetings with the UNLV rims as he threw down dunk after dunk, plus young phenom Cooper Flagg with the defense-to-offense slam and a smooth fadeaway over Jrue Holiday
Between the four-day training camp in Vegas and the five-game USA Basketball Showcase, the goal for the weeks leading up to the Olympics is to have this collection of All-Stars and MVPs coalesce as a team and find the lineups that work best together.
That includes their Starting 5.
- USAB Head Coach Steve Kerr: “It’s a good problem to have. I’m guessing that all 12 players on this roster will be in the Hall of Fame someday. So, how do you pick five out of 12? The idea is, you find combinations that click, and you find two-way lineups that can be effective at both ends.”
NBA.com’s five writers offered their suggestions for Team USA’s starting lineup, with three of the five spots locked with unanimous picks – LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid.
- Others Receiving Votes: Stephen Curry (4), Anthony Edwards (2), Jayson Tatum (2), Kawhi Leonard (1), Anthony Davis (1)
4. GERMANY AND FRANCE SPLIT A PAIR OF EXHIBITION GAMES
Team USA isn’t the only Olympic squad getting ready for Paris.
On Monday, France (the Olympic host country) and Germany (the reigning FIBA World Champs) met for an exhibition game for the second time in three days.
Game 1 (Saturday in Cologne, Germany): France defeated Germany 90-66 behind 25 points in 19 minutes from Victor Wembanyama. The Germans played shorthanded without the Wagner brothers (Moritz and Franz) and Daniel Theis.
- French Connection: Rudy Gobert and Wemby find each other for a pair of slams
Game 2 (Monday in Montpellier, France): With Wembanyama sidelined due to illness and the Wagner brothers making their summer debuts for Germany, the Germans overcame an early 11-point deficit to win 70-65.
- German Trio: Dennis Schröder and the Wagner brothers combined for 39 points to lead the Germans to the win
- Schröder Showing Out: Schröder got a screen outside the 3-point line and did the rest himself, slicing through the lane for the slick reverse finish
- No Layup Zone: When you think you have a wide-open layup only for four-time Kia DPOY Gobert to swat it away from behind
- Wasting No Time: After Nic Batum buried a corner 3 for France, Franz took the inbounds pass coast-to-coast for a layup in under five seconds
- Clean Up On Aisle 99: Gobert missed the transition runner, but No. 99 Bilal Coulibaly was there for the putback slam for France
5. VEGAS SUMMER LEAGUE PREVIEW: TEAM USA THROWBACKS
Long before coming to Las Vegas for Team USA training camp, members of the US Men’s National Team took part in NBA Summer League over the past two decades. Let’s take a look at their top moments from back in the day.
- LeBron James (2003): LeBron displayed his wide array of skills at the 2003 NBA Summer League in Orlando
- Stephen Curry (2009): Steph showed off his shooting range and scoring ability at the 2009 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
- Devin Booker (2016): An early look at Book’s three-level scoring came at the 2016 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
- Kevin Durant (2007): KD’s been a bucket since Day 1 … and here’s the proof as we send it back to his Summer League debut in Sonics green and gold
- Bam Adebayo (2017): Bam dropped 18 points in a win over the Spurs in his Summer League debut game in 2017
- Jayson Tatum (2017): Before winning the title together in 2024, rookie Tatum and sophomore Jaylen Brown were Summer League teammates for Boston back in 2017
The Summer League throwbacks aren’t just limited to Team USA. Some of the top international stars that will be in Paris for the 2024 Olympics also got their first taste of NBA competition in the NBA Summer League.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (2014): We’ve seen plenty of poster dunks from the Greek Freak over the past 11 seasons; here’s one of his first from Summer League 2014
- Jamal Murray (2016): An all-access look at Murray’s Summer League debut in 2016; the 2023 NBA champ suits up for Canada this summer
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2018): Another outstanding Canadian guard, SGA had his own personal highlight reel from the 2018 Summer League with LA
- Victor Wembanyama (2023): All eyes were on the No. 1 overall pick out of France at last year’s Summer League and Wemby did not disappoint with a monster double-double
