NBA Summer League Cheat Sheet: Team Rosters, Previews and Tournament Schedule

The 2021 MGM Resorts Summer League tips off Sunday night in Las Vegas.

All 30 teams will be in action this week as they look to finalize their training camp rosters with more information on newly acquired players via the draft, trades, and free agency.

This is not only the first chance for teams' top draft picks to play competitive basketball, but it is also an opportunity for under-the-radar players to earn a spot in the NBA or the G League. For more on the which teams oddsmakers expect to make noise, click here for updated tournament winner odds.

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Summer League Format

• All 30 teams will be a part of the 2021 MGM Resorts Summer League in Las Vegas with each team playing four games from August 8-15.
• The top two teams after the first four games will compete in the Championship Game on August 17. If a tiebreak is needed, the tiebreaker will be determined in this order: head-to-head matchup, point differential, and then random drawing.
• The remaining 28 teams will play a fifth (consolation) game on either August 16 or 17.
• These consolation games will be chosen via several criteria including rivalries, broadcast interest, and scheduling issues (such as avoiding back-to-backs).

Summer League Schedule

Sunday, August 8

Monday, August 9

Tuesday, August 10

Wednesday, August 11

Thursday, August 12

Friday, August 13

Saturday, August 14

Sunday, August 15

Summer League Rosters

Brandon Anderson's Watchability Ratings

★★★★★ —  DEN | DET | HOU | NYK | ORL
★★★★ — BKN | CHA | GSW | MEM | OKC | PHI
★★★ — ATL | BOS | CLE | LAC | NOP | POR
★★ — CHI | IND | SAC | SAS | TOR | WAS
★ — DAL | LAL | MIA | MIL | MIN | PHX | UTA

Atlanta Hawks

Players to Watch: The Hawks should be a lot of fun, though not necessarily good. Rookie Sharife Cooper is a jitterbug who can make every pass but he’s tiny and can’t shoot much yet, so that could make for some rough results. Jalen Johnson should also get a ton of opportunity to handle on the wing. Good for development, but could be rough on the team results.

Boston Celtics 

Players to Watch: The Celtics will be fun for big college hoops fans because there’s a ton of recognizable names here and the team should be pretty competitive. Carsen Edwards is built to excel in Summer League with his microwave scoring ability. Payton Pritchard will run the offense well, and Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford are two of the better SL wings. NCAA fans will also recognize guys like Dedric Lawson, Zach Auguste, and Sam Hauser.

Brooklyn Nets

Players to Watch: The Nets ended up making five draft picks, and for a top-heavy roster with precious little depth, this may be the most title-relevant Summer League team because some of these guys may actually play. Cam Thomas is a walking bucket, and Marcus Zegarowski and Duke could be similarly valuable bench scorers. Day’Ron Sharpe may already be in the big man rotation, and RaiQuan Gray looks like a guy who could play well with James Harden. Veterans like Alize Johnson, Reggie Perry, Quinndary Weatherspoon, and Chris Silva could also make an impression. A lot of guys here could be fighting for real roster minutes, especially with Brooklyn load managing.

Charlotte Hornets

Players to Watch: No LaMelo Ball, but we do get LiAngelo Ball and plenty of other intrigue. James Bouknight should light up SL scoreboards with his microwave scoring, Kai Jones and JT Thor are super athletic and raw but should get some highlight blocks and dunks. Sophomore Grant Riller is a bucket too, and he and Vernon Carey should keep this team competitive with their high floor.

Chicago Bulls

Players to Watch:Patrick Williams is the highest 2020 draft pick playing this summer, though I bet he only goes the first couple games. Would be great to see him in a bigger playmaking role with more of the ball in his hands. Catch Chicago early while Williams features because it’s pretty much just local favorite Ayo Dosunmu after that.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Players to Watch: The Cavs are the only team with multiple recent top-5 draft picks playing this summer but I fear Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro could disappoint. There’s no real place for defense at SL, and Mobley needs guards to help him succeed on offense and won’t get any help there. Hopefully this means more time on the ball for Okoro and Mobley than they’ll ever get in a real game. Good for development, not so much for winning summer games.

Dallas Mavericks

Players to Watch: Not much to see here, which is sorta what happens when you trade all your picks for Kristaps Porzingis. Josh Green is the most intriguing name as last year’s first rounder, but he’s still just returning from hooping with Australia in Tokyo and may not play much.

Denver Nuggets

Players to Watch: The presence of Bol Bol and Matur Maker make Denver absolutely must-see Summer League ball. That’s 14 feet and barely 400 pounds of raw basketball intrigue. Bol is a fan favorite anywhere he plays, and we’ve been waiting to see Maker for a while. Just tons of outlier handling and shooting for guys this size. Markus Howard and Bones Hyland are also a random fireball 30-point SL outing, and Zeke Nnaji is a hustle guy who will probably put up big numbers in this format.

Detroit Pistons

Players to Watch: This is one of the most loaded and intriguing Summer League rosters … ever? Cade Cunningham is obviously the main attraction, and he alone is worth the price of admission. We’ve never seen him on this stage or with this much talent around him (at least since Montverde Academy, good grief!). It’s not just Cade, though. Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart were two of the league’s best rookies last year, plus we get another look at young international lottery picks Killian Hayes and Sekou Doumbouya. Luka Garza could mash in this format too. Detroit is the one must-see team this summer. They’ll be good and fun.

Golden State Warriors

Players to Watch: The Warriors have three big-ticket recent lottery guys, but Jonathan Kuminga is the big draw here. Unless you caught the month of G League, this is your first chance to catch the raw but supremely talented wing. This should be a great high-usage showcase for Kuminga. Take the points over. Unfortunately, James Wiseman is hurt and won’t be playing. These would’ve been key development games for him. Moses Moody won’t really be in the 3-and-D role he’s expected to play for the Warriors. This is all about Kuminga.

Houston Rockets

Players to Watch: The Rockets had four of the first 24 picks in the draft, and all of them are playing this summer. No. 2 pick Jalen Green is the headliner. Many haven’t seen him since he played in the G League. He has an electric first step and a scorer’s mentality, and he’s a highlight waiting to happen. International big men Alperen Sengun (Turkey) and Usman Garuba (Spain) are also main attractions since most fans have never seen either before. Garuba is just returning from the Olympics, and Sengun averaged 19/9 in a good Euro league at age 18. Josh Christopher is a bucket and finally healthy too. Houston is must-watch Summer League basketball.

Indiana Pacers

Players to Watch: Not much to see here unless you’re a big basketball nerd. We already know what Chris Duarte is at age 24, and this isn’t the right place for Goga Bitadze or Isaiah Jackson (once his trade processes) to showcase much.

Los Angeles Clippers

Players to Watch:Keon Johnson broke Combine records with a 48-inch vertical. He’s the guy to watch here, a modern-day Latrell Sprewell type who could get more minutes than you think this year with Kawhi Leonard hurt. B.J. Boston (once his trade is finalized) is another lanky rookie wing with potential, and Jason Preston impressed in Ohio’s Cinderella March Madness run. Unlike other contenders, the Clippers quietly helped themselves on Draft Day and have names to watch.

Los Angeles Lakers

Players to Watch: Gone are the old days where Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram had the local fans going wild in Vegas. The Lakers probably won’t rely much on youth this year, but do keep an eye on 2-way guys Joel Ayayi and Austin Reaves, both of whom look like nice theoretical role players around LeBron James.

Memphis Grizzlies

Players to Watch: The Grizzlies have one of the youngest and deepest NBA rosters, and that means their SL roster is stacked. You’ll need to catch Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman early, if they play at all. They were terrific in Salt Lake this week and look too good for summer play. Memphis traded up for Ziaire Williams in the lottery. He had a lost freshman season at Stanford so this is a fresh start for a player the team has invested a lot in. Santi Aldama was another surprise first round pick, a mostly unknown big man out of Loyola. Yves Pons and Romeo Weems went undrafted but could catch on as gangling, athletic wings without an offensive role. Pons is good for at least one highlight block per game.

Miami Heat

Players to Watch: If you wanted to catch Miami summer basketball, you should’ve been watching Team Nigeria at the Olympics. KZ Okpala and Gabe Vincent featured there so I’m not sure they’ll play much here. We may get a lot more Omer Yurtseven, which … sure.

Milwaukee Bucks

No Official Roster Listed

Players to Watch: The champs don’t have much by way of youth. Jordan Nwora is fresh off a few weeks with Nigeria at the Olympics, and he’s a good scorer with a chance to carve out a bench role for himself. Jalen Crutcher was Obi Toppin’s point guard at Dayton. Sandro Mamukelashvili is a stretch big who could spell Brook Lopez some, if they can remember how to say his name.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Players to Watch: Anthony Edwards is way too good for Summer League, and the Wolves traded both of this year’s picks in the Russell-Wiggins deal. Jaden McDaniels had a nice rookie season but this isn’t really his scene. Jaylen Nowell and undrafted rookie McKinley Wright IV could push for time.

New Orleans Pelicans

Players to Watch: Shouldn’t the Pelicans have a lot more interesting Summer League players for a young, rebuilding team? Kira Lewis is lightning fast and will make this team fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing Didi Louzada again after the strong impression he made last SL. Trey Murphy should join the roster once he’s officially traded, but he and Herb Jones are defenders first and not built to shine here. A little surprising we won’t see Nickeil Alexander-Walker here.

New York Knicks

Players to Watch: If fans were allowed, the Knicks would absolutely be the buzz team at Vegas. Obi Toppin needs the reps and should excel in this format and put up some highlight dunks. Immanuel Quickley may not play long but should impress while he’s out there. Rokas Jokubaitis and Luca Vildoza are intriguing internationals who get to make a first impression. Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride are more familiar but play hard in the Thibs mold, and this feels like a team that will play hard as it continues to establish a winning team culture.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Players to Watch: Australian lead handler Josh Giddey will surely be one of the summer’s main attractions. Giddey can make every pass in the book at 6-foot-8 and will dazzle fans with highlight dimes, and this is a first chance to see him against this level of competition. Theo Maledon will also play, though he’s a "too good to be here" candidate, and Tre Mann is another exciting guard to watch.

Orlando Magic

Players to Watch: Summer League is about guard play, and that should make the Magic very watchable and very good. Sophomores Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton both had huge moments as rookies and are ready to put up some big scoring lines, and we already saw what Jalen Suggs did on the biggest stage at the Final Four. All three marquee names should be a fun watch. Franz Wagner isn’t really a SL watch guy, though we do get to see Amar Sylla finally.

Philadelphia 76ers

Players to Watch: The Sixers are a basketball nerd’s fever dream, but it’s hard to get a feel for this roster with Ben Simmons’ status up in the air. This could be one of those situations where some of these guys get traded mid-SL game if Simmons news breaks. Tyrese Maxey is the showcase name and is too good to play much. Jaden Springer could be this year’s buzzy breakout name now that he’s healthy. He was a draft Twitter favorite. Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe were G League breakouts. Aaron Henry and Charles Matthews could contend for rotation wing minutes; likewise Charles Bassey and Filip Petrusev behind Embiid. Lots to see here and a pretty good roster.

Phoenix Suns

Players to Watch: If you only skip one Summer League team, make it Phoenix. Last year’s lottery pick Jalen Smith will play after not getting any playoff run, but this isn’t a great setting for him, unless you like getting confused about there being a Jaleen Smith on the same roster. Ty-Shon Alexander could be something.

Portland Trail Blazers

Players to Watch: This is an incredibly deep team, which is why they are the favorites to win the tournament. Portland has had a lot of past success at Summer League and this is definitely the sort of team that could contend again. Antonio Blakeney and Kobi Simmons have been big-time SL scorers in the past, and somehow Michael Beasley and Kenneth Faried are playing in the Summer League. Faried’s energy suits the format well and he could be a nice mentor to Greg Brown. Emmanuel Mudiay is a nice SL point guard too, and Nassir Little is a developmental name to watch.

Sacramento Kings

Players to Watch: The Kings made one of the more surprising lottery picks reaching on Davion Mitchell, but we already saw a ton of him in Baylor’s title run. D.J. Steward and Jah’mius Ramsey are super talented but even more raw wing prospects. Neemias Queta was the other draft pick, and he’s a slow plodder and the exact opposite of what you want to see in Summer League.

San Antonio Spurs

Players to Watch: The Spurs love to use Summer League to put one key young player in an outsize role with a lot of the ball and see what happens, and Devin Vassell could be the pick this year. It feels a little early to expect much from Josh Primo as the youngest player in the draft, but we’ll see. It’s nice to have a competent point guard like Tre Jones to run the summer offense.

Toronto Raptors

Players to Watch: The Raptors might end up with a solid Summer League team, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be a ton of fun. Expect more than the typical level of defense from this team, with No. 4 pick Scottie Barnes leading the way. What role will Barnes have on offense though? He ran point at Florida State but Toronto has Malachi Flynn and David Johnson to run things here so that could limit Toronto’s marquee man from a viewing standpoint.

Utah Jazz

No Official Roster Listed

Players to Watch: Hilariously, one of the least interesting teams at Summer League had to split into two rosters at the Salt Lake SL this week. There’s just not much here. Udoka Azubuike was last year’s first but he’s a giant defensive center. Jared Baylor was the only pick this year, but he’s not medically cleared. His Baylor teammate MaCio Teague surprised this week, so maybe he or Trent Forrest will be of interest.

Washington Wizards

Players to Watch: Do you love awesome four-year college guys who starred in the NCAA but might not have much of an NBA future? Well, you have come to the right place! Cassius Winston and Corey Kispert should stand out against this level of competition, but we need to see it at the next level. Isaiah Todd is an intriguing young big man from the G League Ignite team. — Brandon Anderson