LAS VEGAS — Historically, Summer League has not been terribly predictive for rookies. Jalen Brunson shot 23 percent from the field in his first year in Vegas. Victor Wembanyama went just 2-of-13 from the field in his debut. The slapdash rosters, fast pace of games, and developmental nature of the league lead to some sloppy games. 

With that caveat, it is always fun to overreact to Summer League games. This is the first look for many of the prospects that we’ve been keeping an eye on throughout the draft process, and the competition is better than in college. Some things obviously pop out, and it does provide an opportunity for prospects to expand beyond what their previous coaches would allow them to do. 

There have been some brilliant performances through the first handful of games, and some question marks being raised for other guys taken high in the draft. Here are the winners and losers through the first weekend of Summer League. 

2026 NBA Summer League winnersCaleb Wilson, Bulls

Wilson hit only seven threes at North Carolina last season. His shooting was supposed to be a weakness coming into his rookie year. That certainly didn’t appear to be the case in his debut.

Wilson drilled seven of his 11 3-point attempts against the Grizzlies, dropping 35 points on a dazzling array of pull-up 3’s, midrange buckets, and powerful drives to the basket. He showcased his two-way play, guarding Cameron Boozer well and making an incredible chase-down block to clean up one of his rare mistakes in the game. For long-suffering Bulls fans, watching Wilson’s dominance felt like a religious moment. 

Today at Thomas and Mack, I saw God disguised as Caleb Wilson

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) July 11, 2026

Wilson not only had the best first game of his class, he had one of the best of all time. His 35 points fell just two points shy of Marco Bellinelli’s record for a rookie debut. He’s looking like a steal with the No. 4 pick. 

AJ Dybantsa, Wizards

The No. 1 pick has played well through the Wizards‘ first two games, scoring 27 in his debut against Darryn Peterson’s Jazz and following that up with 23 points against Darius Acuff’s Kings. Dybantsa has been unstoppable going to the rim, using power and speed to slice his way through traffic. Teams have fouled him out of frustration, because that’s been the only way to prevent easy layups. 

The one blemish for Dybantsa has been with his 3-point shooting. He was a capable shooter at BYU but has hit just 1-of-11 attempts thus far. Once that shot comes around for him, he has a chance to put together a special rookie season. 

MORE: AJ Dybantsa vs. Darryn Peterson had Las Vegas buzzing

Kingston Flemings, Hawks

Flemings hasn’t shot the ball particularly well. He’s averaging just 7.0 points per game on 33 percent from the field. But the pure point guard out of Houston is doing everything else.

Flemings has been a terrific floor general, averaging 6.5 assists per game and continuing his strong passing from the Utah Summer League. He’s made some big defensive plays, including ripping the ball away from 6-foot-11 big man Danny Wolf late in the Hawks‘ win over the Nets.

Flemings does need to get more aggressive and improve on driving left, where teams are now shading him. But he’s played with tremendous poise, and he looks like a solid pick for the Hawks at No. 8.

MORE: Self-aware Kingston Flemings is shining in NBA Summer League

Brayden Burries, Bucks

Burries has scored 44 points on 48.4 percent shooting from the field through his first two games for the Bucks. The knock on Burries coming into the draft was that he didn’t excel in any one area of the game. It turns out being pretty good at a lot of things is also a valuable skill set to have. The No. 10 pick has looked under control, getting to his spots, making good cuts, and playing strong defense.

Brayden Burries, the 10th overall pick, in tonight’s @NBASummerLeague action:

26 PTS (game-high)
3 STL
2 BLK
4 3PM (game-high) pic.twitter.com/7qA0OyxOqz

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2026

Fellow lottery pick Nate Ament has looked shakier and the Bucks Summer League team hasn’t won either of its first two games, but none of that matters if Burries continues to play like this. He’s looking like a cornerstone as Milwaukee begins its rebuild. 

Honorable mentions: Koa Peat, Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson, Zuby Ejiofor, Allen Graves, Cameron Boozer, Labaron Philon, Meleek Thomas, Bruce Thornton, Dillon Mitchell, Baba Miller, Tyler Nickel

2026 NBA Summer League losersAday Mara

Mara was one of the biggest risers in the draft cycle, going to the Thunder with the No. 12 pick in the draft after a dominant year at Michigan. At 7-foot-3, it was easy to see how he could become a great defensive center, with great touch and exceptional passing. 

Mara has looked much more like the player that struggled in his first two years at UCLA rather than the exceptional Michigan prospect. He’s looked winded and slow during games, and he’s been too out of position to have a big defensive impact. Offensively, he has thrown some nice passes. But the touch issues that plagued him as a Bruin have been recurring in Las Vegas. 

Mara took some time to figure it out in college, and it looks like that might be the case at the NBA level as well. The tools are certainly there, but he doesn’t look quite as NBA-ready as some draft analysts thought. 

Darryn Peterson

Peterson doesn’t totally deserve to be in the losers section. He’s done some things well, particularly in the Utah Summer League where he looked totally in control of the game. In Las Vegas, it’s been a bit of a bumpier ride. He hasn’t shot the ball well, going just 12-of-36 from the field, and he’s had serious fouling issues. He has drawn a ton of defensive attention though and had one notable ankle-breaker drive against the Wizards. 

Peterson played more off the ball as a shooting guard at Kansas. There was hope that he could return to the primary playmaker role that he had in high school for the Jazz. That has looked a bit dicey too. He’s struggled with intense ball pressure, turning it over 10 times through two games. There have been some flashes of good court vision, and he has set up teammates for some nice assists. But Utah will probably use Keyonte George and Peterson together rather than giving Peterson the primary point guard duties. 

Darius Acuff

Acuff hasn’t been pleased with his Summer League performance thus far. The No. 7 pick for the Kings is shooting just 29 percent from the field and 23 percent from 3 through his first two games. 

“I gotta be better though, I’m playing terrible. Too inefficient,” Acuff told reporters after his first game against the Clippers. He followed that up with another 4-of-14 stinker against the Wizards. 

If Acuff isn’t a dynamic offensive player, then the Kings are in big trouble. His defense has been as bad as expected, where he’s been inattentive and sloppy. 

Darius Acuff’s off-ball defense in a nutshell: pic.twitter.com/qOfWltbU70

— Nic Thomas | NBA & NBA Draft (@NicThomasNBA) July 10, 2026

Acuff was too good of a college scorer and passer to be this bad in Summer League. He will recover at some point, but it’s been a rocky start. 

Keaton Wagler overreactions 

Wagler, taken No. 5 overall by the Clippers, had perhaps the worst first six quarters of any of the first-round picks in Las Vegas. The athletic concerns about him looked spot-on as he struggled to create separation or get shots off. Many people began firing off their takes about Wagler being a bust during halftime of his game on Sunday against the Kings. 

Keaton Wagler is garbage. He looks legitimately scared out there.

— Raheem Palmer (@iamrahstradamus) July 13, 2026

Wagler then reminded people why it is dangerous to make overreactions based on Summer League. He exploded for 18 points in the third quarter of that game, putting forth the most dominant period in Las Vegas. He was draining tough 3’s, playmaking, and doing the exact same things that helped him lead Illinois to the Final Four. 

Keaton Wagler, the 5th overall pick, led the way for the Clippers!

🏀 23 PTS (team-high)
🏀 4 AST
🏀 4 3PM (team-high)

The @LAClippers win in @NBASummerLeague action 👏 pic.twitter.com/bFNqGCPvt3

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2026

Summer League overreactions are fun, but there is danger when you fire off takes hotter than the Nevada sun. What happens in Vegas can often stay in Vegas.