After having three players selected in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in school history, the Michigan Wolverines will be well represented in the 2026 NBA Summer League with five players set to make their professional debuts this month.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a breakdown of the former Michigan players taking the court in the NBA\u2019s annual summer showcase.<\/p>\n
Morez Johnson Jr. (Dallas Mavericks)<\/p>\n
After being selected with the ninth pick by the Dallas Mavericks, Johnson reunited with former Michigan head coach Dusty May, who left Ann Arbor to take the reins in Dallas. Johnson averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds this past season, while shooting an efficient 62.3 percent from the field to help the Wolverines win the national championship. He will now try to make a positive impression in the Summer League and eventually secure a spot in the rotation as a rookie.<\/p>\n
Debut: Thursday, July 9 at 7 p.m. on ESPN<\/p>\n
Yaxel Lendeborg (Golden State Warriors)<\/p>\n
Drafted by the Warriors with the 11th pick, Lendeborg landed with one of the NBA\u2019s most prestigious franchises and will now get a chance to play with Stephen Curry. Lendeborg capped his college career by posting a team-high 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, winning Big Ten Player of the Year and spearheading Michigan\u2019s title run. There\u2019s no doubt his versatile skillset translates to the next level, and he should shine as Golden State competes in San Francisco and Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Debut: Friday, July 3 at 10:30 p.m. on TBD network<\/p>\n
Aday Mara (Oklahoma City Thunder)<\/p>\n
There wasn\u2019t a better landing spot for Mara than the Thunder, as he will immediately join a championship contender and provide an instant boost off the bench. He was drafted by Oklahoma City with the 12th overall pick, and the 7-foot-3 big man will bring elite rim protection and front court depth to the table. Mara broke a program-record with 103 blocks in his lone season in Ann Arbor and will now show off his unique skillset in the Summer League.<\/p>\n
Debut: Saturday, July 4 at 3 p.m. on TBD network<\/p>\n
Nimari Burnett (Toronto Raptors)<\/p>\n
Despite not being selected in the draft, Burnett quickly signed an Exhibit-10 contract \u2014 a one-year, non-guaranteed deal \u2014 with the Toronto Raptors and will suit up in the Summer League. The former Wolverine shot an impressive 38.4 percent from three-point range in his time at Michigan, and he will aim to bring his sharpshooting ability to the pros. He will likely find himself in the G-League next season, but a strong showing this summer could earn him an invite to training camp.<\/p>\n
Debut: Friday, July 10 at 9 p.m. on ESPN<\/p>\n
Roddy Gayle Jr. (Detroit Pistons)<\/p>\n
Getting a chance to stay local, Gayle agreed to a Summer League contract with the Pistons and will look to make an impact in the Las Vegas tournament. Famously dubbed \u201cMarch Roddy\u201d by fans and teammates, Gayle was an integral part of Michigan\u2019s national championship run by averaging nine points per game in the NCAA Tournament. His aggressive perimeter defense and scoring prowess should stand out in the Summer League and could lead to a training camp invite if all goes well for him.<\/p>\n
Debut: Thursday, July 9 at 5:30 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After having three players selected in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in school history, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,291211,368852,291212,590,85],"class_list":["post-778454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-michigan-mens-basketball","tag-michigan-mens-basketball-analysis","tag-michigan-mens-basketball-news","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}