There are eight games of NBA summer league action taking place across tonight’s slate as the Las Vegas action gets fully underway. Starting at 9:00 p.m. ET, the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns will square off with both organizations in interesting spots as a franchise.
DraftKings Sportsbook is listing the Washington Wizards as seven-point favorites and -290 on the moneyline ahead of the summer league opener. The Phoenix Suns hold +235 odds on the moneyline with the game total set at 178.
Wizards vs. Suns Breakdown:
Both of these organizations have some intriguing young talent they will be looking to sort through, despite being at different stages as a franchise.
For the Wizards, they have done an excellent job building up a young core that is expected to begin taking the next steps this year. They selected Tre Johnson with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft following his one-and-done season in which he dropped 19.9 points per game at Texas. He will have free rein to show exactly what he can do in the summer league and will be a great complement to the defensive identity Washington has already established. Alex Sarr has been a key part of this identity after being selected with the second overall pick in last year’s draft. Sarr averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He will be on the floor to start the summer league, but is a candidate who could look to be too good to remain if things continue to click for him.
Washington also added Kyshawn George with the 24th pick in last year’s draft. The 21-year-old showed some promising flashes in his rookie season and will be looking to take the next step this year. Bub Carrington shined even brighter after being selected with the 14th overall pick last year and will be back for his second summer league. Illinois’ Will Riley was drafted with the 21st overall pick in this year’s draft and will provide some nice perimeter shooting to this Wizards roster. Washington also added AJ Johnson through the Kyle Kuzma trade, who impressed during his 22 games with the organization.
Leaky Black spent some time with the Hornets last year after a five-year standout career at North Carolina and will be looking to cement his NBA standing. Dillon Jones also shook free from the Oklahoma City Thunder with little room on their roster. He was the 26th pick in the 2024 draft and impressed across his four years at Weber State, so he will be looking to find his footing in Washington. Kadary Richmond, Jamir Watkins, Zeke Mayo, and Keshon Gilbert each have also shown some exciting flashes across their collegiate career and will look to carry this into the summer league.
Simply put, the Wizards’ summer league roster is loaded.
The Phoenix Suns are desperately attempting to keep the window to win open around Devin Booker. With their salary cap situation bleak, maximizing the margins and adding young, cost-controlled talent must be the priority. They did a nice job of this in this year’s draft, adding Khaman Maluach with the 10th overall pick as well as Rasheer Flemming and Koby Brea in the second round. Maluach still has plenty of untapped potential, but enters with a 7-foot-1 frame and is coming off a successful one-and-done season at Duke. Phoenix traded up to the first pick in the second round to add Rasheer Fleming, who fits the archetype of the modern-day power forward. Koby Brea also has a sneaky case for the best shooter in this year’s class after connecting on 43.5% of his three-point attempts this season at Kentucky and hitting 49.8% of his three-point attempts at Dayton the year prior on 6.1 long-range shots per game. All three will be in action across the summer league and are expected to make an impact.
Last year’s first-round pick, Ryan Dunn, is returning for his second summer league game after being mostly as advertised as a rookie. The defensive flashes are real, but he has struggled to be even adequate offensively, which resulted in his level of opportunity shrinking as the season progressed. Phoenix also selected Oso Ighodaro in the second round last year. The Marquette product suited up for 61 games last year but played a limited role and will be looking to take a stride forward. Both players have some skills they need to refine, with the summer league being a perfect setting to do so.
Yuri Collins is the only other player on the roster with NBA experience after playing just two games with the Warriors last year. Khalif Battle had a nice six-year career in college, which finished out at Gonzaga. After averaging 13.6 points per game last year, he will look to make his mark on this roster. Boogie Ellis also impressed across his past three seasons at USC and will be looking to make his impact on this roster.
Wizards vs. Suns Pick: Wizards -7 (-110)
If there were summer league dynasties, the Wizards would be well on their way to building one. How all these young players fit together is still a question mark, but Washington is loaded with young talent, and you will find very few summer league rosters with this much pedigree. The Wizards also must make use of these games as they sort through who their foundational pieces truly are and which of these young standouts are ready to make an impact during the real NBA season. Looking at just tonight’s matchup, this depth and variety of options should be viewed as a positive and is something the Suns will not be able to match.
Phoenix has some talent as well, but players like Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Flemming are dependent on others to create shots for them. Summer league is a difficult setting for there to be any type of polished offense run, and both are much better long-term investments than they will be summer league standouts. Neither Oso Ighodaro nor Ryan Dunn is particularly effective at creating their looks either.
If there were alternate lines offered for the NBA summer league on DraftKings Sportsbook, I would push this number even further. But I am locking in the Wizards to beat the Suns by more than seven points and giving them a real chance at winning the entire Summer League.
