The Summer League is well underway. Only a couple of weeks after the NBA Finals concluded, basketball is back. It’s a chance for the young players in the league to showcase their skills, and for fringe players to prove they belong. Thursday marks the beginning of the Vegas portion of the Summer League. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets will square off on Thursday to begin their Vegas campaigns.
DraftKings Sportsbook is listing the Oklahoma City Thunder as 5.5-point favorites and -238 on the moneyline. The Brooklyn Nets are listed at +195 odds on the moneyline, with the game total set at 174. Let’s get into a breakdown of the two Summer League squads, players to watch, and a pick for the contest.
Thunder-Nets Roster Breakdown
For the Nets, it all starts with their 2025 draft. Five first-round selections will take the floor for them in Vegas. It begins with Egor Dëmin, the tall Russian guard out of BYU. His size and passing ability will be on full display. Though there are question marks about his scoring and defending, he’s the kind of player Brooklyn has been targeting. And he’s not the only one trying to get minutes in the backcourt.
Nolan Traore, the 19-year-old French guard, projects to get a lot of touches. He has some work to do offensively, especially when it comes to shooting, but he’s a hard-nosed perimeter defender. They also added Israeli guard Ben Saraf, another tall passer with interesting offensive skills and limitations. You may start to see a pattern emerging.
More of a raw athlete compared to the first three picks, Drake Powell is in the play finishing guard/wing mold. The Summer League would have been important for him as the Nets assess his developmental speed; unfortunately, he will be sidelined for all of Vegas with a knee injury. Last, but not least, we have Danny Wolf. The seven-foot big man plays like a point guard, can shoot, and offers interesting potential as a Swiss-army-knife of a big man.
And that’s not where the intrigue ends for Brooklyn. They’ll also have undrafted rookie Grant Nelson, who showed potential in college as a defense-first stretch big with lots of length. Third-year NBAer Tosan Evbuomwan joins them as well after playing 28 games with Brooklyn this past season. The 24-year-old is another player with a mix of size and athleticism on the perimeter that the Nets will be eager to get more of a look at.
For a detailed breakdown of the Oklahoma City Thunder roster, check out my article on their previous game against the Jazz.
Now that we’re familiar with the teams, let’s move on to the pick.
Thunder vs. Nets Pick
Brooklyn Nets Moneyline (+195)
Oklahoma City boasts a solid roster of talent. Nikola Topić and Ajay Mitchell are a good summer league backcourt, Brooks Barnhizer has lots of NCAA experience, and Branden Carlson looked passable in his NBA minutes last season. But this is an overwhelming amount of talent for them to contend with.
Brooklyn could easily fit Dëmin, Saraf, Traore, and Wolf on the floor at the same time. Throw in Nelson, Drew Timme, and Evbuomwan, and they can go seven deep on legitimate talents. They’ve got tons of size and a lot of players who can make things happen on the perimeter. That’s a great Summer League formula in my eyes, and enough to like them as underdogs in this Vegas tilt.
