Yes, the NBA is back in service in July under the rays of sunshine and the neon lights of the Las Vegas casinos and next to the beautiful waters of Salt Lake City! The NBA is back in the party city for the 2022 edition of its summer league from July 7 to 17, just after that of Utah which will begin on July 2. The calendars are out, the rookies will be there, and players unknown to the general public will try to make a name for themselves.
Yes, on paper, the Summer League is never very sexy. No Giannis Antetokounmpo or Stephen Curry on the floor of the T-Mobile Arena, but rather future freshly drafted rookies, or G-League and European lieutenants who will try at all costs to be spotted by the front offices. The goal is not to see stars on the field, but to see what kids can really do three months later in the NBA. And also for strangers in the battalion to make a name for themselves, and why not land a two-way contract in the last place on a franchise’s roster. For those who follow basketball from the old continent less than American basketball, it will be an opportunity to discover the talent of these more unknown men whose rights are being passed around like small change in big trades. Boys with funny names and faces who have a knack for making Americans laugh, like the legend of the 2021 Summer League, the Latvian Janis Timma who showed up at 30 years old in Vegas to play his first summer league with the Magic, with a PNG bandit look straight out of GTA V. The calendar of the two Summer Leagues 2022 was released on Sunday, so here is the program for this crazy league, which can be quite hyping to start the 2022-23 season.
11 Days. 75 Games. All 30 NBA Teams. The NBA 2K23 Summer League schedule has been released!
Schedule: https://t.co/smjbINKUgp
Get Tix: https://t.co/tcHcx1KE0C
Enter-to-Win a VIP Experience: https://t.co/tcHcx1KE0C#NBA2K23SummerLeague pic.twitter.com/5UoWAN5L3e
— NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) June 20, 2022
The Summer League is also an opportunity for teams that do not participate in the Playoffs to play for the title thanks to their rookies picked very high three weeks earlier. In Vegas, each franchise plays four games in a week, and the two best records among the thirty teams meet in the final, the other 28 will have one last classification game to play to finish in style. In 2021, it’s good the Kings who won the title. Yes, we know very well: Sacramento and title, it sure sounds wrong together. But last year on the palate, it made a nice sweet-salty mix. Although the party was further disrupted by COVID with games canceled due to very strict protocols, the Kings managed to nab the final title thanks to a crazy Davion Mitchell elected co-MVP of the Summer League with Cam Thomas ( Brooklyn). A less prestigious title certainly but a title for the last Antetokounmpo brother, Alex, so no jealousy!
Even if the summer leagues are not very exciting on paper, the thirty franchises and their kids will be there to offer their fans a nice appetizer for the 2022-23 season. See you on July 2 in Salt Lake City, then on July 7 in Las Vegas for the start of these Summer League 2022 which will officially launch the next NBA season.
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