Former Huskies Leave Their Mark on NBA Summer League

Summer league is just a flash in the pan in what is otherwise a lengthy NBA season. The 11-day tournament comprises just a handful of games before the four teams with the best record move on to compete for a championship. For all 30 teams, the game sample yields an opportunity for coaching staffs, front offices and development teams to get a look at their young organizational chips. So is true for the Dallas Mavericks, who shut No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg down after just two games in Las Vegas. 

Seven former UConn Huskies have been in action this past week. How have they performed against some of the league’s best rising talent?

Adama Sanogo - Utah Jazz

The bar for Adama Sanogo’s summer was not high to begin with. Both his minutes and his production on the floor have remained modest under head coach Will Hardy. In about 15 minutes each night, he contributed a few baskets and grabbed a handful of rebounds. He did his best work on July 8 against Oklahoma City, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds. Utah began to phase Sanogo out of the rotation, activating him Sunday against Golden State and Monday against San Antonio, though he did not get any minutes. On Wednesday against Washington, he played 18 minutes, scored three points and grabbed nine rebounds. 

Andre Jackson Jr. - Milwaukee Bucks

Through four games, Andre Jackson Jr. has remained quiet. He is not attempting a high volume of shots — his highest point total this week is just nine — but he is contributing elsewhere. Two steals and one block rounded out his line in the team’s most recent game against the Clippers on Sunday. In the two games previously, he tallied just eight points combined on five attempted shots. The third-year guard is seeing plenty of minutes, hitting the floor for at least 20 per night, but has not been prioritizing scoring during his time in Las Vegas. 

Cam Spencer - Memphis Grizzlies

The rising sophomore has been doing it both on and off the court this week. On the hardwood, he’s played in six of the team’s seven games dating back to the early start in Salt Lake City and averaged 18 points. Meanwhile, he’s renegotiated his recent two-year extension into a four-year, three-year guaranteed deal worth $10.5 million. Impressive. 

James Bouknight - Portland Trailblazers

James Bouknight has been tepidly rewarding Portland for taking a chance on him. Through the team’s first two games, he averaged 13 ppg on very effective shooting splits. He opened his summer with a 11-point, nine-rebound performance, shooting 3-5 from the floor and 1-2 from three. He added one steal and two blocks in that performance, but recently scored just two points on July 15 against the Pelicans. 

Then he exploded. Thursday night against Houston, Bouknight dropped 25 points, including a 20-point barrage in the fourth quarter to seal the game. He finished the game 8-11 from the floor (6-8 from three) with three assists and four rebounds. The Trailblazers recently re-acquired franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard, but with the point guard set to rehab a torn achilles for all of the 2025-26 season, Bouknight’s impressive summer league could propel him into some regular-season minutes. 

Liam McNeeley - Charlotte Hornets

McNeeley has made the most of his time in Las Vegas. He exploded onto the scene in his first game with the Hornets, posting a double-double and dropping 22 points off the bench to lead the team in their opening game of the tournament. He earned the start in Charlotte’s game against Philadelphia the following night, posting 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. 

He did not play July 14 against Dallas or July 17 against San Antionio— head coach Chris Jent’s decision. Summer is not yet over, though, for McNeeley, whose Hornets qualified for the summer league playoffs after a perfect four-win run. 

Samson Johnson - Indiana Pacers

There is not much to say about Samson Johnson’s time in the NBA summer league, for he did not see the floor in any of Indiana’s first three games. Johnson had been left off the court each time as a coach’s decision. 

Johnson, alas, made his professional debut Thursday night against the Knicks. He played just 10 minutes, grabbing three rebounds and scoring two points — a pair of free throws. 

Tristen Newton - Minnesota Timberwolves

Newton has been a consistent, reliable role player in Minnesota’s undefeated summer league run thus far. A slow offensive start in game one — one point in 13 minutes — did not deter his production. He dropped 12 points in a win over Denver and nine points in the team’s most recent game over Phoenix. That included a clutch, go-ahead three-pointer in the final minutes of the Phoenix win. Defense has been Newton’s most apparent success this summer, averaging 1.75 steals per game. In Minnesota’s 16-point win over Detroit on July 15, he collected three steals. Despite a perfect 4-0 record, Minnesota will not appear in the summer league playoffs.