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Winning is nice, especially when it happens in Las Vegas. There were plenty of winners at NBA Summer League this year, as Kyle Filipowski, Nique Clifford, and Kon Knueppel were among the notable standouts from this summer's showcase. However, when there are winners of NBA Summer League, there are also losers that need to be discussed as well.
Perhaps nobody lost more than a poor soul I observed on the concourse at the Thomas & Mack Center. In between games, many NBA spectators go and grab food at the arena so they don't miss a second of Summer League action.
Unfortunately, not everyone makes it back to their seats with their food unharmed, and that is when I discovered the person who lost the most at Summer League. After ordering a platter of chicken fingers with his baby girl in hand and guiding his younger son next to him (the child couldn't have been older than 4 years old), a random guy in a yellow LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers jersey began his journey back to his seats.
As he lowered lowered the chicken platter for his begging son to grab just one of the five or six strips that were there, it was in that moment that the father knew he messed up. With a forceful downswing, the child had knocked the chicken fingers everywhere, and before the father could form a sentence, the baby sensed it was her turn to wreak havoc by slapping his soda cup from his hands.
Five tasty-looking chicken fingers, now covered in Coca-Cola, lay on the concourse of the Thomas & Mack Center as a look of despair came from the father's face. To make matters worse, the child, who wasn't going to be stopped in his conquest to get his chicken finger, swiftly picked one up off the floor with no care in the world and consumed the now cola-flavored chicken.
If this was you at Summer League and you are now stumbling upon this story after your trip to the desert, I am sorry for your loss of chicken fingers and the drama you had to deal with. However, I will forever remember this moment outside of section 112 every year I attend NBA Summer League.
Anyway, back to the actual topic at hand: basketball in Las Vegas!
Plenty of teams and people ended up being the biggest losers from NBA Summer League, starting with those who weren't pleased with the Portland Trail Blazers' first-round draft pick.
Yang Hansen silences haters in Summer League spotlight
Even now, when you look back a month to the 2025 NBA Draft, it's still crazy to believe that the Portland Trail Blazers took Yang Hansen with the 16th pick after many had him graded as a second-round prospect. Nobody saw this selection coming right after the lottery, and many had criticized Hansen before he even stepped foot on the court in the United States.
Perhaps now is a good time to revisit what one front-office executive told ClutchPoints on draft night shortly after the pick was made:
On the Hansen Yang pick at 16 for Portland, this is what one NBA front-office member had to say:
"That is the wildest pick I've ever seen. Those jobs up there are on the line."
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) June 26, 2025
Well, so far, the Blazers seem like the smart ones for drafting the Chinese big man, as he was right there with Cooper Flagg and Bronny James as one of the faces of NBA Summer League this year in Las Vegas. He even had his own graphic on one of the poles on the concourse of the arena with several top picks in the draft!
In terms of his play, Hansen averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor. He looked comfortable on the perimeter, especially as a passer, and the 20-year-old center played at his pace.
Although he was gassed at times and will obviously need to become more physically fit to contribute in full at the NBA level, this was a surprisingly strong showing for Hansen in Summer League.
All of his haters certainly can't say much after watching him play in Las Vegas. If you were one of them, you ended up being a loser in Summer League this year.
Pelicans continue to face major questions
Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans were decimated by injuries. Absences by several key members of this roster will linger into the 2025-26 season, specifically with Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones. Once again, the Pelicans were unable to escape the injury bug in Summer League, as 13th-overall pick Derik Queen suffered a torn ligament in his wrist and had to undergo surgery.
Queen will be out at least 12 weeks and is expected to miss the start of his rookie season.
This obviously makes the Pelicans big-time losers coming out of Las Vegas, as Queen was set to hold a significant role early in the year next to Zion Williamson and Yves Missi. Speaking of Missi, he struggled mightily in his three Summer League games and looked more like a first-year player than someone heading into his second season after starting 67 games for New Orleans last year.
While seventh-overall pick Jeremiah Fears led the Pelicans in scoring with 17.4 points per game, he shot just 18.2 percent from 3-point range, he didn't match the physicality of his opponents, and he averaged 5.0 turnovers per game. That is not what you want to see from a player who is supposed to become the franchise's lead guard.
The Pelicans have a lot of work to do in the training room and in terms of practicing if they are to be anything noteworthy during the 2025-26 season. So far, this summer has not been kind to New Orleans.
What will the Lakers do with Dalton Knecht?
Along with Missi, Dalton Knecht was another second-year player who struggled in Summer League.
Knecht, whom the Lakers have remained high on as an impactful wing on the perimeter, was overshadowed by James, Cole Swider, and Darius Bazley. Quite honestly, if you didn't know anything about the Lakers' roster, you would've thought that Swider was who fans in Los Angeles hype Knecht up to be!
Swider was excellent on offense, as he averaged a team-high 17.6 points per game while shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range. Unfortunately for the sharpshooter, he is what we in the media like to refer to as a “3-and-no-D” player since he is often targeted on defense by his opponents.
Looking back at Knecht's performances, he barely averaged over 10 points per game while shooting 27.9 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent from 3-point range. Since being included in the rescinded trade for Mark Williams back in February, Knecht's confidence has been unsteady.
This will be a big year for Knecht to prove himself coming off the bench for the Lakers. So far, things aren't looking promising.
NBA fans who wanted to see top draft picks
Well, if you attended NBA Summer League to watch the incoming top draft picks, you instead got to watch a handful of bench players, second-year guys, and second-round picks for the most part.
Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Tre Johnson only played two Summer League games each. VJ Edgecombe played just once, and Utah Jazz fifth pick Ace Bailey didn't play at all. It is worth mentioning that Harper was dealing with a minor groin injury, Edgecombe had a thumb injury, and Bailey was dealing with a hip flexor injury.
While these top picks were missing games for good reasons, all three respective teams did partake in warm-up Summer League events like the California Classic and the Salt Lake City Summer League. Perhaps it is time for those extra games and exhibitions to be held after the main NBA Summer League in Las Vegas so fans can actually see the main guys the league is marketing.
Of course, everyone knew that these lottery picks were not going to play more than two or three games entering Summer League, but it's the fact that so many players missed games this year that doesn't sit well with many fans. Shoutout to Kon Knueppel, who played five of his team's six games, including leading the team to the Summer League title after receiving stitches for a cut above his eye.
NBA fans who showed up after the first three days ended up being Summer League losers, as they missed out on getting to see Flagg and the rest of this year's top picks.
