Summer League is the highlight of the NBA’s yearly schedule for insane basketball fans. It has everything the makings of a deranged, roundball-obsessed mind could desire: unknown players, sloppy play, sightings of Yao Ming, wild supporters, and the inevitable dubious choices that accompany gambling in Las Vegas. It’s incredible.
Next week marks the start of the Dallas Mavericks’ eighteenth trip to the Las Vegas Summer League. In Dallas, practices begin on July 8 and continue through July 10. After that, the squad sets up camp for the desert event, where it will play its first of five games on July 13. Assistant coach Jared Dudley of the Mavericks will once more lead the summer team, which will include both well-known and less-well-known players.
Roster
Lawson, A. J., and Olivier-Maxence Prosper is the team’s star player. After playing as a two-way player for a while, Lawson earned a conventional NBA deal with Dallas the previous season. In the 2023 NBA Draft, Prosper was selected with the 24th overall pick. 43 of the Mavericks’ regular season and postseason games were played in which he saw action.
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Schedule
Dallas will participate in Summer League with a minimum of five games. On Saturday, July 13, at 9:30 p.m. CT, the Mavs take on the Utah Jazz in their inaugural game. They will play as follows: Monday, July 15, at 7 p.m. CT, against the Memphis Grizzlies; Wednesday, July 17, at 2 p.m. CT, against the Miami Heat; Friday, July 19, at 3:30 p.m. CT, against the Boston Celtics; and a fifth game that will be revealed later.
The 2024 NBA Summer League will feature all 30 NBA teams and will take place from July 12-22 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Pavilion on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. Each team will play at least five games. After the first four games, the top four teams will advance to the playoffs, starting with a semifinal doubleheader on Sunday, July 21.
The winners of the semifinal games will face off in the championship game on Monday, July 22. The four playoff teams will be determined by their winning percentages in the first four games, with tiebreak criteria applied as needed. The 26 teams that do not make it to the playoffs will play a fifth game on Saturday, July 20 or Sunday, July 21.