Cooper Flagg’s Debut and 9 More Burning Summer League Questions
The Matchups, Performances, and Overreactions That Will Define Vegas
It’s 4:38 a.m. here in Las Vegas, just off the Strip. In just a few hours, the NBA 2K26 Summer League will officially tip off, and honestly, this year feels different. The buzz around Vegas is real. We’re looking at one of the most highly anticipated rookie classes in recent memory, and Thursday’s games – the very first day of action – are already sold out.
It still blows my mind how far Summer League has come. I think back to my first Summer League experience back in 2012 when I could stroll down to a near courtside seat to watch Damian Lillard battle Austin Rivers at the Thomas & Mack Center. Those days are long gone. I’ve been hearing reports of tickets going for over $200 just to get in the door.
The big draw today is Cooper Flagg, this year’s top overall pick, making his debut for Dallas against the Lakers. But for me, this year’s Summer League hits different because my brother and podcast co-host, James, is making his first appearance out here. If you’ve followed my work, you know I hosted the NBA Big Board Podcast on the Locked On Network, but I recently stepped away after this year’s draft. Even so, I’ll still be creating video and audio content, and I’m hyped to announce that James and I, along with Kevin O’Connor from Yahoo!, will be doing a live alt-cast Monday night for the Lakers vs. Clippers game.
But before all that, James and I wanted to chop it up and share our thoughts heading into this year’s Summer League – who we’re excited to watch, the matchups we’re circling on the calendar, and some of the biggest questions we have going into what could be a memorable week in Las Vegas.