NBA Summer League takeaways: an outstanding top four, a Warriors gem and a Cavaliers steal

But the surprise of the week was Arthur Kaluma, who spent last season with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate. He had a 34-point game against the Mavericks, and generally seemed prime to emerge as the 3 & D wing the Lakers are looking to shore up their rotation with. While the team fell short of making the Summer League Final, they have to be feeling pretty good about what they have in-house. They went 4-1 in Vegas, only losing to the ultimate champion Warriors in the semi-finals.

4) The Bucks reset is off to a good start

Milwaukee have had a rough go of things in recent years, to say the least. Their fence-swing for Damian Lillard went about as poorly as it could have, culminating in an achilles tear and the decision to waive and stretch his contract. Then came the somewhat inexplicable decision to throw the bag at center Myles Turner. Another year of Giannis Antetokounmpo injuries later, and it was finally time to face the music: the Bucks traded the Greek star to the Miami Heat, who had long courted him. As much as it hurt to break up with their multi-time MVP sweetheart, it was for the best for all parties. Hope that there are sunnier days ahead came in the form of guard Brayden Burries, who the Bucks selected No 10 overall in this year’s draft. He was one of the standouts in Vegas, averaging 23.5 points (with 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists), and putting a cherry on top of his outing with a game-winning bucket in his final game. Burries looks like he could end up being the best of what was a crowded guard class in the mid lottery, scoring efficiently and showing poise in his time in the desert.

5) Meleek Thomas may have been the steal of the draft

At the time of writing, the jury is still out on whether or not one LeBron James, the best thing to ever happen to sports in the Cleveland metro area, will be back for a third rodeo in a Cavaliers uniform. But regardless of that outcome, there are silver linings to be found for Cavs fans this July. Thomas, a guard out of Arkansas, was the surprise standout of the week, averaging just over 27 points (!) at 50% (!) from the field. He may struggle to find substantial rotation minutes on the Cavs next year, as they just gave Donovan Mitchell a tremendous amount of money and are allegedly planning to bring back James Harden on a more team-friendly contract, but Thomas was the best player on the floor in several of his contests in Vegas, and for the 34th overall pick, that’s pretty damned remarkable. Thomas didn’t look out of place among his higher drafted peers; if anything, he was often the most confident among them. We may well look back on the 2026 draft and wonder how Cleveland snagged such a gem in the second round.