The country’s most prolific NBA-producing program is once again well represented in the NBA Summer League after another banner NBA Draft.
With rosters now set for all three leagues in Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, 13 former Kentucky men’s basketball players are set to participate in summer league action.
The main event of the NBA Summer League, the Las Vegas League, tips off Friday. The Las Vegas League will feature all 30 teams and the Chinese and Croatian National Teams.
Tyler Herro (2019) of the Miami Heat and Wenyen Gabriel (2017-18) of the Sacramento Kings are currently playing in the California Classic in Sacramento. Keldon Johnson (2019) is suiting up for the San Antonio Spurts in the Salt Lake City League.
All three are off to terrific starts. Johnson scored 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and three steals Tuesday. Herro debuted Monday with 18 points and five 3-pointers, and Gabriel posted a double-double Monday with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Both the California Classic and Salt Lake City League conclude Wednesday and will give way to the Las Vegas League, which will run through July 15.
Here’s a list of the former UK players scheduled to play in the NBA Summer League:
· Atlanta Hawks – Reid Travis (2019)
· Boston Celtics – Aaron Harrison (2014-15)
· Charlotte Hornets – PJ Washington (2018-19)*
· Chicago Bulls – Mychal Mulder (2016-17)
· Denver Nuggets – Jarred Vanderbilt (2018)
· Los Angeles Clippers – Isaac Humphries (2016-17)
· Miami Heat – Tyler Herro (2019)
· New York Knicks – Kevin Knox (2018)
· Oklahoma City Thunder – Hamidou Diallo (2017-18)
· Phoenix Suns – Derek Willis (2014-17)
· Portland Trail Blazers – Skal Labissière (2016)
· Sacramento Kings – Wenyen Gabriel (2017-18)
· San Antonio Spurs – Keldon Johnson (2019)
*Washington has been listed as doubtful for the NBA Summer League
The Las Vegas League will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Teams will compete in preliminary games before being seeded in a tournament that culminates with the championship game on July 15.
The NBA Summer League is an important time of the year for professional players to either earn a free-agent contract, solidify their spot on an NBA roster, or develop and earn additional playing time for the NBA regular season.
Fans can access box scores, game recaps and cumulative statistics at nba.com/summer-league.
For the third consecutive year, ESPN will present every game from Las Vegas via the ESPN App, along with 43 games on its linear television networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU). NBA TV will air a record 40 games.
The Las Vegas League will feature all three of UK’s 2019 first-round picks (Herro, Johnson and Washington), plus Travis, who signed an NBA Summer League deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
In 10 seasons with Calipari at the helm, Kentucky has churned out three No. 1 selections, 29 first-rounders, 21 lottery picks and 38 total players in the NBA Draft. The 38 draft picks are 14 more than the next closest school (Duke). With another surge of first-round picks, Kentucky has more first-round selections (39) than any other school in the NBA lottery era (since 1985).
In those 10 seasons Calipari’s players have totaled more than $1.55 billion in NBA contracts heading into the 2019 NBA Draft. With another big draft night last month and NBA free agency underway, that number will only grow.
Including his players at Memphis and UMass, Calipari-coached players have amassed more than $1.9 billion in career NBA contracts. That number could go over $2 billion at the end of this NBA’s offseason moves.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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For more information contact:
Eric Lindsey