Recapping Arizona's NBA Summer League Thursday Night Games

The NBA 2025 Summer League is here with new faces getting a chance from organizations and second-year players participating to get more reps and prove themselves to not only their teams but others around the league that are keeping an eye out for talent.

Although it isn’t the same as the regular season, it is a great chance for basketball fans to see young and upcoming talent that could be future stars in the NBA and inspire the next wave of players.

Right now, there are seven former Wildcats participating in the Summer league with Caleb Love, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, Oumar Ballo, Christian Koloko, Trey Townsend and No. 14 overall pick Carter Bryant looking to impress their new teams and find their footing in the NBA.

It looked like Arizona fans were going to be able to see Townsend play in his first summer league game on Thursday night as New Orleans took on Minnesota in the first game of the day.

However, The Timberwolves beat the Pelicans 98-91 with Townsend not getting any minutes and was listed as a DNP-coach’s decision along with four other teammates.

Although Townsend didn’t get time on the court, he was one of three WIldcats in action on the day.

The Los Angeles Lakers took on Dallas and fell 87-85 to start the team’s summer league action. However, Koloko was able to get 13 minutes on the court.

Arizona fans should remember that Koloko had to stop playing basketball for a short period of time due to health concerns. But, he was able to get medically cleared and is working his way back in the league.

While on the court, Koloko struggled going 0 of 3 from the field and grabbing two rebounds and an assist while scoring three points. Oddly enough, two of his shots came from the 3-point line.

Lastly, Bryant was playing on Thursday night as the Spurs walked away with a massive 111-70 win over the 76ers.

Although Bryant had his lowest offensive output with just five points while going 1 of 6 from the field. It might’ve been his most impressive game with his efforts on the defensive side of the court.

Bryant was all over the place creating chaos 94 feet with three blocks, five rebounds and a steal while playing lockdown, in your face defense.

There was a sequence where he blocked three shots in a span of 90 seconds of action. Two of those blocks were preventing wide open layups at the rim. Bryant finished with a 17 (+/-) while playing 19 minutes for the game.

There will be more summer league games with Arizona players making an impact. Both Townsend and Love have yet to play at this point in time.

Please be sure to let us know what you think of the Wildcats in the summer league. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.