By R.L. Bynum
Henri Veesaar and R.J. Davis each produced solid numbers on the opening day of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, while Seth Trimble figured in a high‑profile matchup.
On Friday, Caleb Wilson plays in his first game in 150 days.
“I’ve been waiting on this opportunity for a very long time,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of surreal to see how fast it all went but I’m definitely excited to play. I feel like when I play out there just like when I played today, it’s a lot little jitters because I haven’t played in so long, but I’ll be good.”
Veesaar delivered his best outing in four games, scoring 14 points and two 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds off the bench as the Atlanta Hawks routed Davis’s San Antonio Spurs, 93–66.
Davis, who finished with a team‑low minus‑20 and missed all three of his 3‑point attempts, still managed 12 points, three assists and two steals, going 5‑of‑7 on two‑point attempts.
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The spotlight, however, belonged to the Washington Wizards’ 92–88 win over the Utah Jazz, a game that matched the top two picks in the draft — Washington’s A.J. Dybantsa (the No. 1 pick) and Utah’s Darryn Peterson (the No. 2 pick) — and also marked Trimble’s Summer League debut playing for the Wizards.
Trimble has seen similar individual matchups before, including Wilson, the No. 4 overall pick, facing Dybantsa in UNC’s 78–76 preseason exhibition loss in Salt Lake City on Oct. 24, and Peterson matching up with Wilson when Kansas lost 87–74 to the Tar Heels in the the Smith Center on Nov. 7.
In Thursday’s game, Dybantsa had the edge with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Peterson finished with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists. Trimble came off the bench for 11 minutes, 45 seconds and contributed two points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
On Friday, Wilson will play his first game since UNC’s 75–66 loss on Feb. 10 in Miami, when his Chicago Bulls face the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. Cormac Ryan and the Milwaukee Bucks meet the Miami Heat at 4 p.m., and Drake Powell’s Brooklyn Nets take on the New York Knicks at 6 p.m. All three games air on Prime Video.
Pete Nance could also appear for the Bucks after signing a two‑way contract with Milwaukee on Thursday, two days after the team released him.
Summer League Tar Heels
Friday, July 3, result
— Heat 88, Spurs 87 | RJ Davis: didn’t start, 18:20, 15 points, 4–8 FG, 3–5 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, team-high +16
Saturday, July 4, results
— Bucks 97, Warriors Blue 83 | Cormac Ryan: started, 18:39, 13 points, 3–8 FG, 3–6 3FG, 3–3 FT, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, +5 | Pete Nance: didn’t play (coach’s decision)
— Jazz 103, Hawks 102, OT | Henri Veesaar: didn’t start, 18:12, 5 points, 2–4 FG, 1–3 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls, -13
— Kings 79, Nets 76 | Drake Powell: started: 27:01, 4 points, 0–9 FG, 0–5 3FG, 2–3 FT, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, -5
Sunday, July 5, results
— Nets 89, Bucks 69 | Neither Drake Powell, Cormac Ryan nor Pete Nance active for game | Nance was released over the weekend
— Warriors Gold team 98, Spurs 69 | RJ Davis: didn’t start, 21:20, 2 points, 1–9 FG, 0–5 3FG, 1–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, team-low -22
Monday, July 6, results
— Hawks 82, Thunder 77 | Henri Veesaar: didn’t start, 16:48, 2 points, 1–4 FG, 0–1 3FG, 7 rebounds, team-low -11
— Lakers 88, Spurs 84 | RJ Davis: started, 29:25, 18 points, 7–16 FG, 2–7 3FG, 2–4 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, team-high +10
— Nets 100, Warriors Gold team 79 | Drake Powell: started, 23:20, 2 points, 1–8 FG, 0–4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, +20
— Kings 95, Bucks 89 | Cormac Ryan: not active for game
Tuesday’s result
— Hawks 92, Grizzlies 82 | Henri Veesaar: Started, 23:32, 11 points, 4–9 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block 4 turnovers, 5 fouls, +5
All games below are in Las Vegas
Thursday’s results
— Hawks 93, Spurs 66:
* Henri Veesaar (Hawks): didn’t start, 19:00, 14 points, 5–8 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, +17; Summer League totals: 8.0 points, 48 FG%, 45.7 3P%, 2–4 FT, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2 blocks
* RJ Davis (Spurs): started; 24:42, 12 points, 5–10 FG, 0–3 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, team-low -20; Summer League totals: 11.8 points, 40.5 FG%, 25 3P%, 54.5 FT%, 2.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
— Wizards 92, Jazz 88 | Seth Trimble: didn’t start; 11:45, 2 points, 1–2 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, +6
Friday‘s games
— Bucks (Ryan) vs. Heat, 4 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Nets (Powell) vs. Knicks, 6 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Bulls (Wilson) vs. Grizzlies, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday‘s games
— Spurs (Davis) vs. Knicks, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
— Nets (Powell) vs. Hawks (Veesaar), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday‘s games
— Wizards (Trimble) vs. Kings, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Spurs (Davis) vs. Bucks (Ryan), 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Monday‘s games
— Hawks (Veesaar) vs. Celtics, 6 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Bulls (Wilson) vs. Jazz, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
— Bucks (Ryan) vs. Suns, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
Tuesday, July 14
— Nets (Powell) vs. Kings, 6 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Wizards (Trimble) vs. Bulls (Wilson), 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Wednesday, July 15
— Bucks (Ryan) vs. Hornets, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Spurs (Davis) vs. Jazz, 9:30 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Wizards (Trimble) vs. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, July 16
— Nets (Powell) vs. Rockets, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
— Bulls (Wilson) vs. Lakers, 6 p.m. (Prime Video)
— Hawks (Veesaar) vs. Grizzlies, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
The Las Vegas schedule reflects each team’s first four Summer League games there, which count toward tournament seeding. The top four teams advance to the semifinals July 18, with the championship game July 19. TV assignments for several later-round games were still to be determined.
Note that an experimental one-free-throw rule is in place. One, two and three free-throw sequences produce a single attempt worth the same total points, except for the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and all overtime periods when standard free‑throw rules apply.
Photo via @chicagobulls
