When the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama made his Summer League debut in 2023, he struggled mightily, scoring just nine points on two-for-13 shooting. His immensely successful first three campaigns in the NBA serve as further evidence that the Summer League is irrelevant.
But if the Utah Jazz’s Darryn Peterson, a top-two pick three years after the gargantuan Frenchman, follows a similar improvement arc, he’ll have racked up even more accolades than two All-Star appearances, a Defensive Player of the Year trophy, and a Western Conference Finals MVP through his first three seasons. He’s been tremendous in the Summer League so far, averaging 25.0 points per game across four appearances.
Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET, Peterson’s Jazz will take on the Spurs (who do have an NBA Finals participant in Carter Bryant) in what could be his final appearance of the showcase, if he suits up at all.
Even with Peterson’s uncertain status, Utah is a 3.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook (-162 on the Moneyline). San Antonio is +136.
Utah Jazz vs. San Antonio Spurs (9:30 p.m. ET)
Each of these teams has had a busy exhibition schedule, as each played in a mini Summer League. The Jazz hosted the Salt Lake City Summer League and went 3-0, while the Spurs participated in the California Classic and lost all three of their games fairly handily. In Las Vegas, San Antonio has won two of its three games (including some NBA Finals redemption against the New York Knicks), while Utah has gone 1-2. Collectively, these teams have only played in one competitive game, the Jazz’s 92-88 loss to No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa and the Washington Wizards. As is standard given the Summer League’s volatility, most games have been blowouts.
Utah’s roster, of course, is headlined by Peterson, who has averaged 23.5 points per game across his first two games of Summer League. Beyond him, the Jazz also have last season’s No. 5 overall pick, Ace Bailey, who started 61 games and averaged 13.8 points per game. Bailey scored 10 points in his lone Salt Lake City Summer League appearance, but he’s been dealing with back spams and seems unlikely to play. Meanwhile, the Spurs’ most notable name is last season’s 14th overall pick Carter Bryant, who played 1,005 total minutes combined between the regular season and the playoffs and was on the fringes of the rotation in the NBA Finals. Bryant averaged a relatively efficient 15.5 points per game across his first two Summer League games before presumably being shut down. Their other player to watch is Tarris Reed Jr., who was Connecticut’s starting center this season and could conceivably compete with Luke Kornet to be Wembanyama’s primary backup. Reed has averaged 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his two appearances, though he’s yet to block a shot and has committed 11 fouls and seven turnovers.
Even if none of the top two players on either roster play, Utah should be able to lean on its depth. Cody Williams, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 Draft who hasn’t shown much as a pro, could be in line for another tune-up after struggling to the tune of just 8.0 points per game in his first two Summer League games. Additionally, Andersson Garcia and Bez Mbeng both got minutes for the Jazz late in the season, with Garcia having a pair of 10-plus-rebound game and Mbeng recording a triple-double. Among Utah’s other rookies, Max Abmas averaged 17.4 points per game last season in the G-League and once led the nation in points in college. Beyond Bryant and Reed, San Antonio doesn’t have anyone of that caliber, as only Emanuel Miller and Miles Kelly have previously played in the NBA. The Spurs’ other rookie first-round pick, Jayden Quaintance, won’t play because of a knee injury.
The gap between the NCAA and the NBA is massive, and even though Garcia’s and Mbeng’s total games have been limited, they still played starter’s minutes after the Jazz shut basically every other player down. Williams has two seasons of rotational play, even though he hasn’t made much of his opportunities, and Abmas has grinded for two years in the G-League as a semi-efficient volume scorer. It’s possible that Bryant surprisingly suits up and plays tough defense like he did on Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA playoffs, but otherwise, Utah should win this one comfortably. Perhaps the Jazz even decide to suit Peterson up, and in that case, he’ll be the best player on the floor regardless of San Antonio’s personnel.
NBA Summer League Pick: Utah Jazz -3.5 (-110)
