Johnson and Poythress – Photo by UK Athletics
Bam Adebayo, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress stood out in Orlando, Utah leagues
LAS VEGAS – The main event of the NBA Summer League, the Las Vegas league, tips off Friday with 12 Kentucky men’s basketball players on summer league rosters. No other college has as many players in the Las Vegas league as UK.
The dozen Wildcats will cover eight of the 24 teams in the league. The Las Vegas league will feature 67 games from Friday to July 17. Kentucky’s representation includes:
- Brooklyn Nets – Archie Goodwin (2013)
- Miami Heat – Bam Adebayo (2017)
- New Orleans Pelicans – James Young (2014)
- Philadelphia 76ers – Isaiah Briscoe (2016-17), Aaron Harrison (2014-15), Alex Poythress (2013-16)
- Phoenix Suns – Tyler Ulis (2015-16)*
- Sacramento Kings – De’Aaron Fox (2017), Dominique Hawkins (2014-17), Skal Labissiere (2016)
- Toronto Raptors – Mychal Mulder (2016-17)
- Washington Wizards – Isaac Humphries (2016-17)
(*Ulis is listed on the Suns’ roster but is not expected to play due to offseason surgery.)
ESPN will present all 67 games from Las Vegas across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and the WatchESPN app, including 35 on its linear television channels. NBA TV will televise 28 of the games.
A handful of Wildcats – Adebayo, Briscoe, Harrison, Poythress, Dakari Johnson (2014-15) with the and Derek Willis (2014-17) with the Detroit Pistons – were already in action in the NBA summer leagues in Orlando and Utah, both of which wrapped up Thursday.
Among the most notable performers in the Orlando and Utah leagues, Johnson averaged 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds, Adebayo posted 17.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and Poythress averaged 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. Johnson finished second in the Orlando league in scoring average while Adebayo was fifth. Adebayo’s rebounding and blocks average were also second in the league.
NBA Cats’ Summer League Averages from Orlando and Utah Leagues
| Player | Points | Minutes | FGs | 3FGs | FTs | Rebs. | Assts. | Blks. | Stls. |
| Bam Adebayo | 17.5 | 30.8 | 19-54 (.352) | 0-0 (.000) | 32-42 (.762) | 8.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 |
| Isaiah Briscoe | 5.0 | 13.5 | 5-9 (.556) | 0-2 (.000) | 0-2 (.000) | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Aaron Harrison | 7.5 | 16.5 | 4-12 (.33) | 1-4 (.250) | 6-9 (.667) | 3.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Dakari Johnson | 18.0 | 27.5 | 29-51 (.569) | 0-1 (.000) | 14-24 (.583) | 5.5 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Alex Poythress | 12.3 | 25.7 | 12-29 (.414) | 3-10 (.300) | 10-12 (.833) | 5.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| Derek Willis | 3.5 | 11.0 | 5-14 (.357) | 2-8 (.250) | 2-2 (1.000) | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
The NBA summer leagues are 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 the full Las Vegas schedule, box scores, game recaps and cumulative statistics at nba.com/summerleague.
UK had another three players (Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk) selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, boosting the Wildcats’ totals to 31 players drafted – including 24 first-round picks – in the eight-year John Calipari era.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and on the web at UKathletics.com.