Entering his second NBA season, there are a lot of questions surrounding Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James. After being drafted late in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, James went through a rollercoaster rookie season. The media hounded him and covered almost every angle of his first professional season.

League in Las Vegas has become more than just basketball. Alongside the games, the Summer League Film Festival showcased 34 film projects by current and former NBA stars.

Now that summer league is concluding and the NBA officially begins its dark period, the stars from Las Vegas must be acknowledged because some unexpected players made big splashes.

The Utah Jazz didn't get to see a full slate of summer league action from their fifth-overall pick in Ace Bailey across their time in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, as the rookie wound up missing six of his eight total contests due to a hip injury, dampening a bit of the immediate hype to surround the Rutgers product.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells accepted the uncomfortable journey of improving during summer league action, including working on his attack.

This is the Goodman League, in the heart of Southeast Washington’s Barry Farm neighborhood. This is where the old Barry Farm Community Summer Basketball League operated from its founding in 1977 to 1995.

Second-year Rockets guard Reed Sheppard wasn’t very efficient at summer league, but he still managed to turn heads, per Michael Pina of The Ringer.