2026 NBA summer-league guide: Darryn Peterson vs. AJ Dybantsa highlights Vegas schedule

Do you see that? It’s an overpriced buffet with crab legs, a spinning roulette table and, off in the distance, a craps table erupting as you wonder if you can learn how to play for the 20th time.

That’s right! Vegas, baby! Vegas!

It’s time for Las Vegas Summer League, that point of the year when the NBA converges on Sin City and gives us a glimpse of its prized rookies and young players. If the cards are in our favor — both at the tables and on the court — we might even see a sudden-death overtime or two. From July 9-19, Vegas will be the place to be. Or the place to watch basketball on television.

Here’s your guide for what (and where) to watch over the next week and a half.

Lock in on Thursday

• Washington Wizards (AJ Dybantsa) versus Utah Jazz (Darryn Peterson), 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

The NBA’s top two draft picks always square off on the first day of Las Vegas Summer League. I like to remind people that the small gym (Cox Pavilion) used to be the place to see that game. It would get so packed and cramped in there, you’d be praying for air conditioning or a jet stream to fly through the room for relief. But then the highly anticipated showdown between Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker made the NBA reconsider where to have that primetime game, so the Thomas & Mack Center went from the overflow action to the main-event arena. That’s where we’ll see No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa’s Washington Wizards vs. No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and the Jazz.

What will AJ Dybantsa’s role be in rookie season with Washington Wizards?

Zach Harper and CJ Moore

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These two had a couple of epic showdowns in high school, including a 61-point effort by Peterson overcoming a 49-point game by Dybantsa. They also had a college game in which Peterson (18) outscored Dybantsa (17) in Kansas’ win over BYU. As Peterson will remind you, he’s come out on top every time they’ve played each other.

Cody Williams and Ace Bailey are on the Jazz’s roster. Felix Okpara (46th overall pick), Leaky Black and Julian Reese will probably be the Wizards’ other exciting young players. This game will have plenty of talent, but we’re looking most forward to the big back-and-forth between Peterson and Dybantsa.

Plenty of people say Peterson is the best talent and player in this 2026 rookie class. His ability to score and be an explosive player on the court is well-documented. However, his issues staying on the court and people questioning his leadership helped make Dybantsa the top pick. Dybantsa is very talented, stands 6-foot-9 and is incredibly athletic. His ceiling might not be quite as high as Peterson’s, according to some, but his floor may be higher.

The Wizards are banking on both being true. The Jazz are hoping the draft’s best player fell to them. On Thursday, they can start piecing together the puzzle of whatever NBA history Dybantsa and Peterson will share. Do not miss this game.

Darryn Peterson is an ‘awesome fit’ offensively with Utah Jazz

Zach Harper and CJ Moore

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Opening weekend is the main event

Yes, there are 11 days of summer-league action in Vegas, but most of the familiar faces will be done after the first weekend. Teams are hoping that second-year players are so good within the first two games that it isn’t worth keeping them on the court. And players in at least their third season will definitely need to prove they don’t belong there.

A lot of fun action will happen throughout the week and a half, but the first weekend is the most important. There are 31 total games from Thursday to Sunday. Here are a few matchups from each day (other than the aforementioned Wizards-Jazz game) to make sure you see:

Thursday

Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN): This will be billed as Dusty May’s new Mavs facing off against one of his former pupils. Related: It’s Morez Johnson Jr. going against Yaxel Lendeborg as a battle of former NCAA-championship teammates. May won’t coach the Summer Mavs, but he’ll likely be there to evaluate. And you’ll get to see him have moments with former players of his that he did not draft into the NBA. This should be a fun television production.

Sacramento Kings vs. LA Clippers, 11 p.m. ET (ESPN): Two of the highest-rated lead guards in the 2026 draft were Darius Acuff Jr. and Keaton Wagler. The Clippers had the fifth pick and went with Wagler. They were considering quite a few options, but Wagler’s skill and 6-foot-5 frame was just too perfect for pairing with Darius Garland. The Kings had Acuff fall to them, and he gives them their chance at building around a legitimate star guard. Watching these two light it up will be a lot of fun.

Friday

Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks, 6 p.m. ET (Prime Video): The Knicks traded five first-round picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges in their quest for a championship, which helped New York snap its 53-year title drought. Two of those five picks have already been used by the Nets, and all it netted (pun always intended) them was Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf. Traore won’t play this summer league (knee scope), but Saraf should. More importantly, Mikel Brown Jr. will play for Brooklyn. This year’s sixth pick is a very important prospect for Brooklyn, especially after how disappointing the Nets’ five rookies were last season.

Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video): This is exactly what we want to see. Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are both forwards. Boozer was the third pick in the draft, and John Hollinger would have taken him first. Wilson was drafted fourth, and he wants to make up for some lost time after a hand injury prematurely ended his college season. They had one big UNC-Duke battle before Wilson got hurt. Now, they get to take it to Vegas.

Saturday

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN): Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen are too good for Vegas, but Micah Peavy is another fun player from last season who should definitely get some run. The Hornets have two really fun rookies (Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson) to throw out there. They also have Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Liam McNeeley on this summer roster. The summer Hornets team is loaded. More on that in a minute.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Nets, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN): We probably won’t see Brown play in back-to-back days for the Nets. That would be ridiculous in summer league. But maybe he won’t play on Friday, and he’ll lace them up on Saturday? If so, we have a potential showdown between Brown and Kingston Flemings, the point guard taken by the Hawks with the eighth pick. Even without Brown playing, Flemings gets to go against some of Brooklyn’s 2025 rookie class.

Sunday

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Warriors, 6 p.m. ET (Prime Video): It’s another Michigan big-man throwdown. Lendeborg will have already played Johnson on Thursday. Well, what about going against Aday Mara on this Sunday fun day? The 7-3 Mara was the biggest guy in the draft, and Lendeborg might have been the craftiest big man. It will be fun to see them match up.

Kings vs. Wizards, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video): My two favorite prospects in this draft were probably Dybantsa and Acuff. Let’s hope their teams haven’t shut them down after their initial showings. Acuff played in the California Summer League before Vegas, so you never know if the Kings will deem he’s played too much.

Clippers vs. Jazz, 10 p.m. ET (Prime Video): I threw in a third one this day, just in case we see Peterson and Wagler go toe-to-toe. Peterson is definitely the more overwhelming prospect and scorer, but it would be fun to see Wagler take it personally and try to battle him on the court.

The most favored basketball movie of the 2026 NBA Draft class

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Summer league’s five best rosters

These are the five summer-league rosters that will probably be the most fun in Vegas.

Hornets: We’ve already mentioned some of their talent, but the Hornets are loaded. Anderson was described as the best shooter in his draft class, and Steinbach is a solid big man who could dominate that environment. McNeeley, Kalkbrenner and James should all hopefully prove they’re too good to play beyond the weekend. Of note: Tidjane Salaun is listed on the roster. He was the sixth pick in the 2024 draft and should be too good for this already. But he’s had a tough start to his career. We’ll see if he gets some run.

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What You Should Read Next

2026 NBA Draft: The best, worst and weirdest from an unusually orderly two days

Despite a fairly ho-hum first round, there are still plenty of highlights and head-scratchers from the NBA Draft.

Mavericks: No, Cooper Flagg is not playing in summer league. He’s obviously way too good for this. But the Mavs will have the aforementioned Johnson on the floor for part of this. Ryan Nembhard will also get some summer run, and he was so good as a rookie point guard last season that he should easily pick apart the summer-league environment. Sergio De Larrea is also going to be a fun prospect to watch. He was a draft-night acquisition at the end of the first round and is a big lead guard who could flash some stuff. Jaden Springer has been in the NBA for a few years, but he’s trying to get noticed again. And Russian forward Vsevolod Ishchenko was a late second-round pick who will join the squad.

Orlando Magic: This roster is loaded with guards, from TyTy Washington to Jase Richardson (needs to prove he’s too good) to Ricky Council IV to Keon Johnson. Orlando also still has Noah Penda from last season. However, the person of note is Cam Reddish, the No. 10 pick in 2019. Reddish was a top prospect in the Zion Williamson/Ja Morant class, but his career has been a disaster. His fight to get back in the NBA’s good graces could be a fun story.

Phoenix Suns: The knock on rookie Koa Peat is that he’s physically imposing for smaller, younger talent, and that’s why he’s been so successful at the amateur level. Well, he should still be too physically imposing for this platform, but we’ll also see him try to flash some skill at some point. The Suns also have Khaman Maluach, Koby Brea and Rasheer Fleming from last year’s NBA club. Jameer Nelson Jr. (yes, we’re that old) is also on the roster. This team has a ton of talent.

Clippers: Yes, Kawhi Leonard is gone, but we’re focusing on the future. The previously mentioned Wagler will be the star of this squad. The Clippers will also have Kobe Sanders and Cam Christie trying to prove they’re too good for this run. Nick Martinelli, drafted 55th overall, will be out there to prove his 3-point shot is legit. Baba Miller, the 36th pick in the draft, is going to be a ball of energy and chaos. The Clippers will be very interesting in the first couple of games.

The title game should be fun!

Four of the last six Las Vegas Summer League championships have been really good, really close games.

The Grizzlies beat the Wolves 95-92 in 2019. The Blazers took down the Knicks 85-77 in 2022. The Heat beat the Grizzlies 120-118 in overtime, thanks to Pelle Larsson, in 2024. And last year saw the Hornets outlast the Kings 83-78 behind big buckets from Kon Knueppel and company. Even though franchises often pull their most important players by the time we reach the championship game, some teams still take it very seriously as a teaching moment with some stakes on the line.

Whatever we see this year should be a really fun matchup. It would obviously be ideal for the top picks to still be playing at that point, and to the Hornets’ credit, they did do that with their Summer Hornets last year. Maybe they’ll do it again and look to repeat as summer champs. Since 2013, the Blazers and the Kings have both won it twice, but nobody has gone back-to-back. Either way, July 19 will be an excellent wrap to what should be a fun time in Vegas. Enjoy!