NBA Summer League ready to return: ‘I’m as excited as I’ve ever been’
The first NBA Summer League in 2004 featured six teams, and co-founder Albert Hall joked his team hit the streets with a box of flyers to promote the event.
Now the NBA Summer League features all 30 of the league’s clubs and turns Las Vegas into the center of the basketball universe each July.
The 11-day event returns Thursday with eight games spread between Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. The highlight of the first day is a matchup pitting the Dallas Mavericks and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg against Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers at 5 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center.
Hall spoke with the Review-Journal on Tuesday about the NBA Summer League, his excitement for this year’s event and much more. (Answers have been edited for clarity and length.)
RJ: In 21 years of putting on the NBA Summer League, has the event grown beyond your expectations?
Hall: We get asked that a lot. The basketball side, yes, a little bit, because we keep growing it. We work really hard at it, so it doesn’t surprise me some of the successes we’ve had. But we never take those for granted. We always come back stronger and more innovative and creative each and every year.
RJ: How does the excitement and anticipation for this year’s NBA Summer League feel compared to the previous years?
Hall: I’m as excited as I’ve ever been, to be honest with you. It’s one of those things where the draft class is really good, the talent with Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel, all these guys are really good players. We’re excited about that and a really good second-year class with the Bronny James of the world.
It’s one of those things where we keep growing the elements off the court. We’ve got the Creator Cup (on Wednesday) night that kind of tips everything off with all these big influencers around the world. Then we have a film festival this year on our second weekend (July 17-19). We got all kinds of different stuff that we always want to launch and create new things every year.
RJ: What’s it like when you have a highly touted prospect like Flagg coming in and making his debut?
Hall: We get juiced up, just like everybody else, to see a talent like that. He’s a guy who was out here last summer and held his own against all the (U.S.) Olympic team and developmental players. We know he can play, we saw what he did this year (at Duke). This is his first NBA experience, the crowd will be electric. It’s kind of like a prize fight crowd. A guy like that, who we think has a really bright future, why not create a little drama and match him up against the Lakers on opening night?
RJ: How important has it been to have big games with the top draft picks or interesting teams on the first day of the event?
Hall: It’s huge. Whether it’s (the) No. 1 vs. No. 2 (overall draft picks) or an intriguing matchup or No. 2 vs. No. 3. Usually, in the first two games, we’ve tried to pit (the top draft picks) head-to-head. It also builds the momentum for the teams. It gives them momentum to go into the offseason and training camp, so it’s big when you see these guys. Then at the end, we have a championship (and) for the first time, we’ll finish on a Sunday, which is really big for us.
RJ: Who are some other prospects and top players to watch this year?
Hall: VJ Edgecombe (picked No. 3 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers) is going to be a really exciting player. (Others to watch are) Ace Bailey (picked No. 5 overall by the Utah Jazz), Khaman Maluach (picked No. 10 overall and traded to the Phoenix Suns) … and Yang Hansen (picked No. 16 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies). This draft goes pretty deep. There’s depth throughout the league this year and a lot of the second-year players, last year’s draft wasn’t touted as highly, so those second-year players come back with a year under their belt, and now they can really prove that they were worth that pick.
RJ: What are some of the other things that fans can expect when they come out here to the NBA Summer League?
Hall: We’re now the national qualifier for the Pop-A-Shot Championship (on July 10-12), so that’s kind of fun. It’s a real big fan experience element where your ticket gets you in and you can play. Your ticket also gets you into our Summer League film festival, which we’ve grown and are excited about the 34 different projects that we’re going to debut here, culminating with the Kings of Vegas, which is a story on the 1989-90 Rebels winning the national championship. We have new technology that we’re trying across the basketball space and new things on the entertainment side.
RJ: How has this been able to remain a premier event in a growing sports city?
Hall: We’re thankful for the fans in Vegas. They’ve supported us for 21 years, the city and Clark County. We’re very happy, but we always challenge ourselves. We’re never complacent. We know that there are other sports, there are other entertainment options in town. We try to keep our tickets very affordable. $50 gets you in and you can see eight games a day. You can’t find another value like that in professional sports. We like to think we softened the beach a little bit for those other teams.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.