With the 2024 NBA Draft over with, and fee agency being all but finished. The next thing NBA fans can get ready for is the summer league. There are three different summer leagues. The first one is the California Classic Summer League which is from July 6-10th. After that, you have the Salt Lake City Summer League which is from July 8-10th. Finally, you have the biggest one in the 2024 NBA 2k25 Summer League taking place in Las Vegas from July 12-22nd.
With the summer league comes the NBA rookies’ debuts in the league. The 2024 draft class was considered one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory, and they will get a chance to prove people wrong starting in the summer. Even with the draft class being considered weak there were a lot of interesting prospects that were drafted. Today, we are going to take a look at the top ten rookies you should consider watching this summer. Before we get to the list, here are some players you should also consider watching: Ron Holland II, Tidjane Salaün, Donovan Clingan, Dalton Knecht, Kyshawn George, and Cody Williams.
First up on the list is the number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. When you are the N0. 1 overall pick all the eyes are going to be on you. Risacher is the perfect wing that NBA teams love to have with his 6’9″ frame. He is projected to be a 3-and-D wing in the NBA. He has all the tools to become an all-star in the NBA and he will have to prove it starting in the summer league. Risacher will be a player you want to watch to see if he can live up to the hype of being a number one overall pick, or if he will struggle under the pressure that comes with being the first pick.
Alex Sarr was the projected number one pick heading into the draft and fell just to pick two. He is a versatile big with great athleticism and has upside as an outside shooter. To go along with that, he will hang his hat on the defensive side of the ball being able to guard multiple positions and being a team’s rim protector. Sarr might get pushed around early on with his slim frame. However, when he fills that part out he will be one of the better young bigs in the NBA. Even though he was selected number two, he has the highest ceiling out of anyone in this class. It will be interesting to see how the Wizards play him in the summer league at the four or five position.
Reed Sheppard is the best shooter in this class shooting a remarkable 52.1% from three last year at Kentucky. Every team is always looking for shooting help and Sheppard will have an immediate impact in that department. Not only can he just shoot the lights out from three, but he can also score from all three levels. He isn’t going to be a lockdown defender in the NBA but will make plays here and there on that side of the ball. The Rockets ranked just 23rd last year in three-point shooting percentage and adding Sheppard will improve that. Everyone loves shooters and he looks to light it up in the summer league this year.
Stephone Castle is the best perimeter defender in this class. He was asked to guard the opposing team’s best player every night at UConn last year. He has a great frame for a lockdown defender at the NBA level standing at six-foot-six. To go along with that he has a six-foot-nine wingspan. That will help him be able to guard multiple positions in the NBA. Pairing him up with Victor Wembanyama will be a nice defensive duo for the next decade. For him to maximize his potential, he will need to improve his three-point shooting. Regardless, if you like watching great defense he is the best player to watch for that in the summer league.
Rob Dillingham was the biggest surprise on draft night. The Spurs drafted him at pick eight and then traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dillingham is one of the more interesting prospects with the raw potential that he has. He has a great feel for the game with his passing ability. To go along with that, he can also score the ball averaging 15.2 points at Kentucky. He isn’t going to make an immediate impact for the Timberwolves, however being able to learn from Mike Conley will definitely help his development. This was a great move by the Timberwolves and someone you want to watch this summer.
Zach Edey dominated the college basketball world for the last two years. Winning the National Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. However, people questioned his fit in the NBA as an old-fashioned big who couldn’t shoot. The Memphis Grizzlies selected him as the 9th overall pick because they like to use that type of center in their starting lineup. It will be very interesting watching him play with NBA spacing and how he will fit. Especially, when he might have to guard bigs that can play on the perimeter. Nevertheless, he is a player you want to watch in the summer league to see if he can be just as dominant at the NBA level as he was in college.
DaRon Holmes II was selected at pick 22 by the Nuggets who traded up to get him. Holmes was one of the bigger risers in the draft class and was the guy the Nuggets wanted. He is the perfect big that teams want in this era of the NBA. Holmes can shoot from the perimeter not a lot of bigs in this draft class have. To go along with that, he can also score from the post, he is also a good ball handler for his size. To top it all off he has shown flashes of being a reliable playmaker for a big in the NBA. He is a guy you want to watch in the summer league and could be the steal of this year’s draft class.
Kyle Filipowski went back to Duke last year to improve his game which he did. He became a better shooter and a better defender. This year, just like last year, he was projected to go in the lottery and fell to the second round to the Utah Jazz. Filipowski just like Holmes fits this era of basketball more as a big. He can shoot from the perimeter, score down low, and is a capable ball handler. However, a reason he fell was some teams didn’t know if he would be best at playing the four or five. Regardless, he is a player you should watch as he will try and show teams that they were wrong to pass on him.
Bronny James is the second of the second-round picks we have on this list. He has the most hype surrounding him as a second-round pick being LeBron James‘ son. After suffering Cardiac Arrest last summer, he didn’t have the greatest freshman season at USC only averaging 4.8 points per game. He decided to enter the draft anyway and was eventually picked by the Lakers at pick 55. Whether people think he deserves to be in the NBA or if people think he is only there because of his father. Bronny will have to prove the doubters wrong that he can be a good NBA player by having a strong summer league performance.
The last person on the list is Jack Gohlke who went undrafted. Gohlke signed a contract with the Thunder to be able to play for their summer league team. He was the standout of March Madness last year after he dropped 32 points with every shot coming from the three-point line. In college, all he did was shoot threes, as only eight of his field goal attempts last year weren’t from the three-point line. However, if Gohlke wants any chance to make it in the NBA, he is going to have to be more than just a three-point shooter. Gohlke will be a player you want to watch to see if he can be a standout just like in March Madness as he is trying to make it in the NBA.
