2026 NBA Summer League tips off Thursday: Full schedule
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- Las Vegas Summer League tips off Thursday, July 9 with a seven-game slate, headlined by No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and the Wizards facing No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and the Jazz at 8 p.m. ET
- Dybantsa and Peterson carry a rivalry dating to high school; earlier this year Peterson scored 19 first-half points for Kansas against BYU but missed most of the second half due to cramping
- Cameron Boozer (No. 3) and the Grizzlies face Caleb Wilson (No. 4) and the Bulls on Day 2 (July 10), while Dybantsa's Washington squad meets Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 7) and the Kings on July 12
- Each team plays at least five games, with the top four after four games advancing to playoff semifinals on July 18 and the championship on July 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Games are played at Thomas & Mack Center or UNLV's Pavilion, with ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts streaming on fubo
- The Hornets defeated the Kings in last summer's Vegas Summer League championship
Why it matters: Summer League offers the first extended look at the 2026 draft class headlined by Dybantsa and Peterson, giving front offices and fans their earliest gauge of how the Nos. 1 and 2 picks stack up against each other. The July 9-19 window at Thomas & Mack and UNLV's Pavilion concentrates every team's five-game audition into ten days, meaning performance data accumulates fast before roster decisions harden in the fall.
