Here’s the thing with being a cranky old guy — I have to kvetch before I can get to the good stuff.
Here’s my gripe with the Wizards 2026 summer league: they shut guys down. AJ Dybantsa and Will Riley appeared in only two games. Tre Johnson played in just one!
I know the official line. They don’t have anything to prove. No need to risk injury. Blech and blech.
All these young guys have a lot to prove. Injury risk is minimal, and they’re going to spend the rest of the offseason working out, training
skills, and playing tons of pickup games.
Meanwhile, another up-and-coming team with youngsters actually played the youngsters. Third overall pick played all six games (and 177 total minutes) for the Memphis Grizzlies. Second-year wing Cedric Coward got 162 minutes in six games.
Yaxel Lendeborg played 170 minutes for the Golden State Warriors. The Chicago Bulls gave Caleb Wilson four games and 111 minutes.
The Brooklyn Nets gave guys they expect to be in their rotation three or four games for the most part. The Charlotte Hornets went 3-5.
New Cleveland Cavalier Meleek Thomas, who dropped mega points on everyone he faced, played four games.
I’m not saying play guys until they collapse from exhaustion. And to be clear, I don’t know what the “right” way is. My guess is that treating 19- and 20-year-olds like they’re too precious and fragile to even face the risk of summer league competition probably isn’t the best way to engender the tough, competitive ethos the Wizards say they want.
‘Nuff said.
Well…okay, I have one more grumble: allowing 10 fouls per player in summer league. This is dumb. In the NBA, players get six fouls for a 48-minute game. In the NCAA, it’s five fouls for 40 minutes. In FIBA competition, it’s five for 40. In other words, one foul for every eight minutes of action. Then summer league where it’s suddenly double that? Dumb.
The 2026 prize for Prodigious Hacking goes to Aidan Mahaney, who suited up for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He committed six fouls in 15 minutes of action — a rate of more than 19 fouls per 48 minutes (extrapolated, which I’m doing here for entertainment value only).
Washington’s top hacker this summer was Julian Reese at 11.7 fouls per 48 minutes.
Okay, some numbers and thoughts for key Wizards from summer competition (PPA is my all-around production metric — in PPA, 100 is average and higher is better; ortg = offensive rating (points produced per possession used x 100), usg = possession usage percentage; all box score stats are per 48 minutes unless otherwise noted):
- AJ Dybantsa — PPA: 293 | ortg: 103 | usg: 33.6% — In his 51 minutes of action, Dybantsa showed why the Wizards made him the top pick. Good size, great athletic tools, impressive skills. He scored 50 points in those 51 minutes, and averaged the second most free throw attempts per minute in summer league. Worry point: Just 1-11 from three-point range, which led to the slightly subpar overall efficiency (-2.2 relative to the summer league average).
- Will Riley — PPA: 216 | ortg: 136 | usg: 26.1% — Shot well from everywhere (67.3% effective field goal percentage) and made frequent trips to the free throw line (more than 10 attempts per 48 minutes). Worry point: Riley’s high PPA is mostly from unrealistic shooting efficiency. His rebounding was below average, his turnovers elevated (just a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio), and he had zero steals or blocks in 57 minutes.
- Tre Johnson — PPA: 87 | ortg: 105 | usg: 32.8% — Got up 20 shots in 28 minutes. Yay, I guess. Worry point: My concern about Johnson in the 2025 draft evaluation was the non-scoring aspects of Johnson’s game. That concern manifested on the floor during the regular season, and it showed up again in summer league (just two rebounds, one assist and a steal in 28 minutes — four turnovers, though).
The rest of the summer league roster will likely be part of the Capital City Go-Go, another team’s G League squad, or perhaps overseas. Some numbers and a thought or two:
- Norris Agbakoko — PPAL 148 — Great name. Played well in summer league, but it’s tough to see much of an NBA future considering he’s already 26-years-old. Maybe the next Anthony Gill?
- Chris Livington — PPA: 145 — I was kinda impressed by Livington, who I think might hsve the size and physical tools to be a backup NBA wing.
- Seth Trimble — PPA: 140 — His summer league looked a lot like his pre-draft eval — impressive defender, good rebounder for a guard, and he shot just 4-15 (26.7%) on threes.
- Reece Beekman — PPA: 118 — Lots of assists and steals, not much scoring.
- Domari Monsanto — PPA: 103
- Julian Reese — PPA: 76 — Rebounded well but struggled to convert inside.
- Kadary Richmond — PPA: 74
- Felix Okpara — PPA: 49 — Not too good. Had trouble finishing, meh board work for a big, didn’t block many shots. The numbers that stood out were bad: 5.5 turnovers and 7.6 fouls per 48.
- John Camden — PPA: 39
- R.J. Nembhard — PPA: -66
Around the League
- Most On-Brand Award goes to Cam Boozer, who led summer league in on/off and scored efficiently, got rebounds, set up teammates, and got lots of steals.
- Brooklyn’s Egor Demin (231 PPA) launched 30 three-point attempts in 76 minutes.
- Darius Acuff Jr. (Sacramento Kings) and Darryn Peterson (Utah Jazz) each had a 10 PPA in summer league. Remember, in PPA 100 is average and higher is better.
- Chicago’s Caleb Wilson (133 PPA) shot 13-31 from three-point range in four games. At North Carolina last season, he shot 7-27 in 24 games. He also did a good job on the boards, and generated steals and blocks. Also, 1-in-4 of his possessions ended in a turnover, and he committed more than six fouls per 48 minutes.
- Favorite summer league name: Boo Buie, who played for Chicago.
- Cleveland’s Meleek Thomas was officially summer league’s leading scorer at 27.3 per game. His per 48 average was 45.1. Dybantsa (who didn’t qualify for leaderboards because Washington removed him from the lineup) averaged 47.3 — No. 1 among all players, even low-minute guys.
- Brayden Burries (256 PPA) had a nice summer for the rebuilding Milwaukee Bucks. He shot reasonably well, and produced well across the board (rebounds, assists, steals) while avoiding turnovers.
- For the Toronto Raptors, YODA favorite Allen Graves (189 PPA) was productive across the board (as he was at Santa Clara). He hit shots from everywhere, rebounded, assisted, generated steals and didn’t commit many turnovers (1.7 ast/tov ratio).
Let me know in the comments if there’s someone in particular you’re curious about.
