The 2017 NBA Summer League is upon us and it’s one of the Crier’s favorite events. As a college hoops junkie and a fan of the NBA the Summer League is a great watch. You get to see the high draft picks make their debuts for their respective teams and you also get to watch college hoop legends, whose NBA prospects aren’t that high, lace them up. The Summer League will kick off July 1st with the Orlando session, which runs the 1st through the 6th, the Utah session, which runs July 3rd-6th, and then culminates with the Las Vegas session, which runs July 7th-17th. The Las Vegas Summer League also features a playoff, which is typically pretty competitive. As a Celtics fan I’m really excited to see their team, as it will feature last year’s 3rd pick Jaylen Brown, this year’s 3rd pick Jayson Tatum and draft-and-stash prospect Ante Zizic. The Celtics will have their first game in the Utah session on July 3rd where they will play the 76ers and first overall pick Markelle Fultz. The NBA has seen their summer league ratings rise and with this year’s story-lines I’d expect that to continue.
The Crier won’t only be paying attention to the Boston Celtics but also the several Friars that will be participating. Kris Dunn, who was traded on draft night in a package for Jimmy Butler, will be making his debut with the Chicago Bulls. Dunn had a stellar summer league for the T-Wolves last season averaging 24 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 apg and 2 steals per contest as well. The Bulls will be playing in the Vegas session this year. The Atlanta Hawks will also be in the Vegas session and Friar legend Bryce Cotton will suit up for them. Since being undrafted in 2014, Bryce Cotton has played for the Spurs, Jazz and Hawks in the summer league. It was announced this evening that former Friar forward Ben Bentil will be playing in this year’s summer league for the San Antonio Spurs.
Bentil was drafted by the Boston Celtics last year with the 51st overall selection. He appeared for the Celts in the Utah session and bounced around last year from the NBA, the D-League and overseas. You can catch a lot of the Summer League action on ESPN networks and NBATv.