No other basketball environment can replicate the chaos and desperation of NBA Summer League.
For the next week, dozens of young hoopers will fight for their careers in two adjoining UNLV gymnasiums, packed to the brim with coaches, scouts, executives and even some current NBA players. Some of the competitors in Las Vegas are newly drafted. Others are fresh out of college but without an NBA home yet. Still others are under contract but are trying to develop their game and prove something before their second or third pro season.
Everyone wants to stand out. Most won’t. Summer League often yields an intense, sloppy, frantic brand of basketball. Into that pandemonium steps Denver on Friday (4:30 p.m. MT), when recent second-round picks Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins will make their Summer League debuts for the Nuggets against Houston.
“The two picks, they’re smart,” coach JJ Barea said. “They learn. You tell them one thing, (and) the next time, they’re gonna do it. So I’m really excited about coaching them.”
With Brazile and Hopkins as the headliners, the Nuggets are especially light on what’s generally considered high-end talent this year. They haven’t used a first-round pick in either of the last two drafts, and their 2024 first-rounder, DaRon Holmes II, practiced with the team this week but has graduated from the Summer League roster. (It was the team’s decision that he didn’t need to play in Vegas this year, not his.)
But for the diehard fans who plan to tune in, here are three key players to watch — at least in Denver’s first weekend of action. Be warned if you’re planning your next Tuesday or Thursday night around the Nuggets: The top players on guaranteed or two-way contracts often get shut down before the end of Summer League, sitting out the later games for health reasons.
KJ Simpson, G
A Colorado Buffs March Madness hero is keeping his two-way status in Denver (and Grand Rapids, Michigan) for now. He signed with the Nuggets in February, arriving with a chip on his shoulder after Charlotte waived him midseason. The Hornets had drafted him 42nd overall in 2024. This will be his third Summer League.
“Just trying to prove myself,” Simpson said. “I just feel like this past season, the other team I was on, I didn’t really get a fair opportunity to showcase my summer, the work I put in. I was ready to kind of make that leap. But obviously, I’m here with Denver, and they’ve given me an unbelievable opportunity. Even though I came late (last season), I felt welcomed from the team, the organization, obviously the fans because of what I did at CU. So I really want to go out there and just prove myself, show I’m somebody who can be on this team.
“I’ve devoted my summer here. Since the playoffs, I’ve been right here. I started my summer workouts. I didn’t go back home. I just stayed.”
Simpson, 23, has appeared in six regular-season games for the Nuggets since signing with them. He’ll be one of their most experienced players in Vegas and should have the ball in his hands a lot. At the NBA level, he hopes he can fill the shortage of quick guards on Denver’s roster.
“I feel so much better (knowing) that KJ is here and is gonna be the point guard for this team,” Barea said. “… He’s the one that’s gonna have to control when we get a little crazy or when the tempo is crazy, he’s gonna have to be the one to slow it down and control the tempo. But I’m just happy I’ve got a good, experienced point guard.”
Trevon Brazile, F
The premier athlete on this roster, Brazile will be trying to locate the balance between showcasing his overall game and developing a feel for the smaller roles Denver would want him to play in a real NBA game.
“The Summer league team is obviously going to be different from the team in the (NBA) season,” he said this week. “So I’m gonna go out there and try to show my game a little bit, for sure. But also do the things I excel at. It’ll be different from my role in the season.”
Those areas where he excels? “High-flying plays,” he said. “Highlights. Playing above the rim. Blocking shots. Catching lobs. Making my open 3s.”
The Nuggets drafted him 35th overall out of Arkansas last month. One of the unknowns about his game will be how much of a spacing threat he is. Barea believes the power forward can pick-and-pop for 3-point opportunities in the next week, not just roll to the rim.
“They were practicing zone,” Barea said before the team flew to Vegas on Wednesday afternoon. “I told him, ‘Any time you see a zone, get to the middle.’ He got to the middle, turned around — easy jump shot.”
Bryce Hopkins
Drafted 49th overall, Hopkins is another prospect who represents the front office’s bet on wing athleticism this offseason. He threw down a vicious dunk on Monday that turned out to be one of the highlights of the week at the Nuggets’ mini-camp.
The coaching staff’s message to Hopkins has been to focus on defensive intensity and offensive rebounding at Summer League. Throughout college, he was an above-average rebounder for a small forward, averaging 8.5 per game over three years at Providence and 6.2 per game last season at St. John’s.
“He knows the game,” Barea said. “And I know he’s athletic, he’s fast, he defends. But he’s always under control, too, for a rookie.”
Hopkins was drafted in the second round, a stage that usually results in a two-way contract, but the specifics of his contract have not yet been decided. That makes this a big week for him. He says he’s trying to ignore the stakes.
“I know the defensive end is gonna be key,” he said.
Nuggets Summer League roster
Efe Abogidi, 6-9 C, 228 pounds, rookie (Washington State)
EJ Anosike, 6-7 F, 236 pounds, rookie (Cal State Fullerton)
TJ Bamba, 6-5 F, 220 pounds, rookie (Oregon)
Trevon Brazile, 6-10 F, 220 pounds, rookie (Arkansas)
Giovanni Emejuru, 6-10 C, 265 pounds, rookie (East Carolina)
Rylan Griffen, 6-5 G, 180 pounds, rookie (Texas A&M)
Coleman Hawkins, 6-10 F, 225 pounds, rookie (Kansas State)
Bryce Hopkins, 6-7 F, 220 pounds, rookie (St. John’s)
DeJon Jarreau, 6-5 G, 185 pounds, three years of NBA experience (Houston)
Mark Mitchell Jr., 6-9 F, 230 pounds, rookie (Missouri)
Matthew Murrell, 6-4 G, 200 pounds, rookie (Ole Miss)
Aaron Nkrumah, 6-6 G, 175 pounds, rookie (Tennessee State)
Osayi Osifo, 6-9 F, 230 pounds, rookie (Jacksonville)
Jahmi’us Ramsey, 6-3 G, 190 pounds, three years of NBA experience (Texas Tech)
Mark Sears, 6-0 G, 185 pounds, one year of NBA experience (Alabama)
Erik Stevenson, 6-4 G, 2-5 pounds, rookie (West Virginia)
KJ Simpson, 6-1 G, 189 pounds, two years of NBA experience (Colorado)
Nuggets Summer League schedule
Friday July 10: Rockets, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2/Altitude
Saturday July 11: Timberwolves, 5:30 p.m., Prime Video/Altitude
Tuesday July 14: Thunder, 7 p.m., ESPN/Altitude
Thursday July 16: Trail Blazers, 8 p.m., Prime Video/Altitude
