Huskies Wrap Up Summer League, Bueckers Exits Game Early with Injury
Paige Bueckers/Azzi Fudd
Paige Bueckers (25 points, 5 assists) and Azzi Fudd (11 points, 3-of-5 from three) combined for 36 points in the Dallas Wings’ 90-82 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon, but the focus quickly shifted to Bueckers after this late fourth-quarter play:
Edior’s update: Monday 7/20/26, 3:10pm ET
On Monday afternoon, the Dallas Wings announced Bueckers will not play in tonight’s game against Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty due to rest. The two-time All-Star did pass conussion protocal but will miss the game due to general soreness.
Bueckers' next chance to play will be on Wednesday night when the Wings face Serah Williams and the Portland Fire in Oregon in their final game before the All-Star break.
The win on Sunday gave the Wings their sixth straight victory and improved their record to 18-7 on the season. Dallas is off to its best start in 18 years.
Alex Karaban
The former UConn captain backed up his breakout performance on Wednesday with another strong outing on Friday by scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-8 from three, while adding two rebounds and three assists to help the Sacramento Kings take down the Charlotte Hornets 92-90. The Hornets were without former Husky standout Liam McNeeley, as he was shut down earlier last week after three impressive performances during the Summer League games.
The victory improved the Kings Summer League record to 2-3 and snapped a three-game losing streak. Karaban only suffered through one three-game losing streak during his UConn career, and that came during the 2024 Maui Invitational. We all remember that week, unfortunately.
After missing all three California Classic Summer League games due to an ankle injury, Karaban started all five Vegas Summer League matchups and averaged 8.4 points per game on 16-of-42 from the field (38.1%) and 8-of-27 from three (29.6%). He also finished with 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game.
Overall, Karaban experienced a little bit of everything during his first stretch of professional basketball over the last few weeks. He injured his ankle in practice but recovered quickly, then showed the expected growing pains of a rookie by scoring just seven points across his first three Summer League games. However, he finished strong, scoring 35 points over his final two contests, highlighted by that team-high 21-point performance against the Celtics.
Liam McNeeley
If you ask basketball fans, not just UConn supporters, but devoted NBA Summer League followers, some will tell you Liam McNeeley was one of the most impressive performers at the 2026 NBA Summer League. McNeeley kicked off the summer with a game-high 28 points behind seven three-pointers in an 86-74 victory against the Orlando Magic. Then followed up with a 17-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans and 20 points versus the Boston Celtics.
In three games (all starts), he averaged 21.6 points per game on 19-of-42 from the field (45.2%), 10-of-19 from three (52.6%), and 12-of-18 from the free throw line (66.7%). The Hornets elected to shut McNeeley down after the first three games, which is a good sign as he will look to earn a spot in the Hornets rotation during his second NBA season.
After winning 44 games last season, their most since the 2015-2016 season when Kemba Walker led Charlotte to the playoffs, the Hornets made a lot of noise this offseason. Charlotte’s front office made two massive trades by dealing away LaMelo Ball (20.1 points, 7.1 assists per game last season) and Josh Green (42.% from three) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid (13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds per game). Charlotte dealt Miles Bridges (17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds per game) to the Phoenix Suns for Grayson Allen 16.5 points per game, 36.5% from three) and Royce O’Neale (9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds per game).
These two trades signify a pretty seismic shift in the direction of the franchise. Ball and Bridges, both former Hornets lottery picks, spent a combined 13 seasons in Charlotte and had been teammates every season since the 2020-2021 campaign. It will be interesting to see what kind of opportunity McNeeley has when the season tips off in October. All signs point to him getting a legitimate chance to compete for meaningful NBA minutes.
Tarris Reed Jr.
Reed Jr. started all five of his appearances across the California Classic and Vegas Summer League games, averaging 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 40% (18-of-45) from the field and 75% (6-of-8) from the free-throw line. The St. Louis, Missouri, native also recorded two double-doubles: 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers and 14 points and 10 rebounds against former St. John’s star Zuby Ejofor and the Atlanta Hawks.
Tarris appeared in five games across the California Classic and Vegas Summer League games, averaging 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 40% (18-of-45) from the field and 75% (6-of-8) from the free-throw line. The St. Louis, Missouri, native scored in double figures in three of his five games, including two double-doubles.
Reed Jr. is expected to begin his rookie season behind Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet on the Spurs' frontcourt depth chart.
Golden State “Huskies”
The Golden State Valkyries made it a franchise record nine wins in a row after taking out the Washington Mystics 74-69 in San Francisco on Saturday night. In their first home game since July 4th, Gabby Williams scored a team-high 18 points with three rebounds, five assists and three steals. The former Husky knocked in her second three-pointer of the night with 1:23 to play to put Golden State out of reach, 74-67.
Tiffany Hayes (seven points in 12 minutes) and Kaitlyn Chen (two points and one assist in seven minutes) both played well off the bench. Kiah Stokes, who has played and started in all 26 Valkyrie games this season, scored three points with four rebounds and one block in 22 minutes.
Golden State improved to 19-7 on the year and is one game behind the Lynx for the best record in the WNBA.
Tristen Newton
Just like he did last season, Tristen Newton continued to show that he belongs on an NBA roster by starting all five of the Houston Rockets’ Las Vegas Summer League games at point guard and helping lead the team to the Summer League postseason. Newton, a G-League All-Star and All-NBA G-League First Team last season, averaged 14.8 points and 2.4 assists per game on 21-of-56 shooting (37.5%), including 8-of-24 from three-point land (33.3%), and 12-of-16 from the free throw line (75%) in 24.4 minutes per game.
The two-time national champion scored in double figures in four of five games, including a 20-point performance against the Nets on Thursday plus a six-assist outing against the Grizzlies in the Rockets’ 101-90 semifinal loss on Saturday.
Newton has spent his first professional seasons on a two-way deal, which allows him to split time between the G League and NBA. The upcoming season is the final year Newton will be eligible to sign a two-way deal, as only players with three or fewer years of NBA experience are allowed to receive this type of contract.
The Rockets signed guard Marcus Smart back on July 10th and are expected to welcome back point guard Fred VanVleet after he missed the entire 2025-2026 season with a torn ACL and meniscus injury. Last season, Amen Thompson served as the primary point guard in VanVleet’s absence and posted 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in his third season. Former Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard had a bounce-back sophomore season, averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 39.0% from three-point range. As a result, the Rockets are not exactly short on ball handlers, so it will be interesting to see what Houston will decide to do with Newton.
Breanna Stewart
For the fourth time in five July games, Breanna Stewart scored at least 20 points after pouring in a team-high 26 points, but it resulted in yet another New York Liberty loss, this time to the Indiana Fever 108-88 in Indiana. Stewart shot an efficient 10-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three and 4-of-9 from the free throw line, while adding eight rebounds, three assists/four turnovers, and three blocks in 32 minutes.
Despite winning the Commissioner's Cup, the Liberty have lost four games in a row and six out of their last seven regular season contests overall and are 13-12 on the season. It’s the first time Stewie has lost four games in a row since joining the Liberty ahead of the 2023 season and only the second time in her career (2017 with the Seattle Storm)
“The feeling after a loss like this, we’ve got to find a way to stop the bleeding. One loss can’t turn into three and now four. That’s a lot,” said Stewart after the 20-point loss to the Fever. “Me, mentally, I’m looking at myself. There’s a lot I didn’t do well today between the turnovers, the missed free throws, things like that. In order for us to be our best, I need to be better.. It’s tough right now.”
Olivia Nelson-Ododa/Aaliyah Edwards
The Connecticut Sun split a pair of games against the Phoenix Mercury over the weekend. On Friday, Aaliyah Edwards scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa added six points, six rebounds, and three assists in the Sun's 96-83 victory.
Then on Sunday, Nelson-Ododa secured her second double-double of the season after scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Mercury defeated the Sun 72-63. Edwards was held scoreless in five minutes of action.
Serah Williams
Serah Williams earned an opportunity and is making the most of it. With former Iowa center Megan Gustafson sidelined over the last two games, Williams has been inserted into the starting lineup and has thrived in her expanded role.
One game after Williams scored a career-high 15 points off the bench, she posted 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, while adding five rebounds, one steal, and one block in a career-high 25 minutes during her first career start, a 75-56 Portland Fire win over the Washington Mystics.
Then on Saturday, Williams was back in the starting lineup, this time against Dorka Juhasz and the Minnesota Lynx, who entered the matchup with the best record in the WNBA. Williams notched eight points on 4-of-8 shooting with two rebounds and one block in 23 minutes. The former Husky is shooting 15-of-22 from the field (68.1%) over her last four contests. She has logged at least 20 minutes in three games this season, including each of her last two appearances.
Juhasz, who returned to the court after missing the last two games with knee soreness, netted 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and one block in 21 minutes off the bench.
The Lynx (20-6) are the first team in the WNBA to reach 20 wins, while the Fire dropped to 11-15 on the year.
Azura Stevens
Stevens registered 12 points with six rebounds and five assists on Friday in the Chicago Sky’s 96-82 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks. It’s the sixth time Stevens has recorded at least four assists in a game this season. She averages 2.6 assists per game.
Then on Sunday, Stevens nearly recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes. However, the Sky suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Dream after former UCLA guard Jordin Canada hit the game-winning layup with 0.3 seconds remaining to secure a 93-91 victory.
The Sky snapped a two-game losing streak and are now 9-17, seven games back of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Aidan Mahaney
Mahaney only played 15 minutes over the course of the five Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League games. He scored a total of four points on 2-of-3 shooting.
The former Husky earned First Team All-Big West honors at UC Santa Barbara last season after leading the Gauchos in scoring (14.9 points per game), assists (2.7 per game), field goal percentage (43.5%), and three-point percentage (38.5%).
Katie Lou Samuelson (Seattle Storm)
- Friday at Fever: 8 points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-1 FT) in 19 minutes. The Storm lost 110-107.
Stefanie Dolson (Seattle Storm)
- Friday at Fever: 2 points (2-4 FT), 1 steal in 3 minutes. The Storm lost to 110-107.
Kia Nurse (Toronto Tempo)
- Friday vs Dream: 6 points (1-2 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 3-3 FT), 1 assist, 1 steal in 18 minutes. The Tempo were defeated 111-92.
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