2026 Summer League Preview + NBA Draft Grades
Jul 9, 2026 · 1 hr 38 min · 10 segments
Giving my thoughts on what to look for in Summer League this year and grading every first round pick from the NBA Draft. Hope you guys enjoy!
- Speakers
- JimHost
Jul 9, 2026 · 1 hr 38 min · 10 segments
Giving my thoughts on what to look for in Summer League this year and grading every first round pick from the NBA Draft. Hope you guys enjoy!
I think Summer League, like, I'm not one of those people that will say it just doesn't matter at all.
I, I think it does matter to a degree.
Like, you want your players to go out there and look good, and at the end of the day, like, it is still basketball, and it is still useful to see these players, especially the rookies, you know, getting into an environment with a 24-second shot clock and NBA spacing, and you're playing against closer to NBA level athletes than you were in college.
Like, it's, it's definitely valuable to see them in that setting.
Uh, uh, you know, you can't take too much from it.
Some rookies, like, just take some time and, you know, everyone knows kind of the, the stories of rookies who have really struggled in Summer League that go on to be great.
Um, you can go on and on with guys who, who didn't necessarily play super well in Summer League, um, and they end up being fine.
So, so I think for rookies, what you're really looking for is just can they get to their spots, like, how comfortable do they look out there? It's more about the process to me for rookies than it is the results.
Um, you just wanna look like you can hang at this level.
Um, hopefully you look comfortable.
Hopefully what you did in college can translate.
Like, that, that's kind of the stuff you're looking for, for the most part for rookies.
Like, I don't put too much stock in it.
But I do think it's important.
I think generally the rookies that really play well in Summer League and, and show you a lot end up being good in the league.
Like, I, I think that's, that's usually true.
There are exceptions.
You know, e- everyone points to, like, the Alex Sarr thing where, you know, he was pretty terrible in his first Summer League.
But I remember, like, after that Summer League, I was coming on here like, "Guys, Alex Sarr's gonna be fine." [laughs] Like, I thought he looked comfortable, he looked good out there.
Like, the shots didn't fall.
Um, you know, and then that was an issue for him as a rookie where, like, he was super inefficient and didn't make a lot of shots and struggled to, to finish inside, like, all the stuff we saw in Summer League.
So, you know, like, I, I do think this stuff matters.
I think Summer League, like, I'm not one of those people that will say it just doesn't matter at all.
I, I think it does matter to a degree.
Like, you want your players to go out there and look good, and at the end of the day, like, it is still basketball, and it is still useful to see these players, especially the rookies, you know, getting into an environment with a 24-second shot clock and NBA spacing, and you're playing against closer to NBA level athletes than you were in college.
Like, it's, it's definitely valuable to see them in that setting.
Uh, uh, you know, you can't take too much from it.
Some rookies, like, just take some time and, you know, everyone knows kind of the, the stories of rookies who have really struggled in Summer League that go on to be great.
Um, you can go on and on with guys who, who didn't necessarily play super well in Summer League, um, and they end up being fine.
So, so I think for rookies, what you're really looking for is just can they get to their spots, like, how comfortable do they look out there? It's more about the process to me for rookies than it is the results.
Um, you just wanna look like you can hang at this level.
Um, hopefully you look comfortable.
Hopefully what you did in college can translate.
Like, that, that's kind of the stuff you're looking for, for the most part for rookies.
Like, I don't put too much stock in it.
But I do think it's important.
I think generally the rookies that really play well in Summer League and, and show you a lot end up being good in the league.
Like, I, I think that's, that's usually true.
There are exceptions.
You know, e- everyone points to, like, the Alex Sarr thing where, you know, he was pretty terrible in his first Summer League.
But I remember, like, after that Summer League, I was coming on here like, "Guys, Alex Sarr's gonna be fine." [laughs] Like, I thought he looked comfortable, he looked good out there.
Like, the shots didn't fall.
Um, you know, and then that was an issue for him as a rookie where, like, he was super inefficient and didn't make a lot of shots and struggled to, to finish inside, like, all the stuff we saw in Summer League.
So, you know, like, I, I do think this stuff matters.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.