B/R's All-2025 NBA Summer League 1st and 2nd Teams

The stars of NBA Summer League weren't the actual stars of NBA summer league.

And that was largely to be expected. Allow us to explain.

The marquee draws weren't projected to be the most productive players in Las Vegas. Top picks like Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper were never likely to see much action—and didn't. Bronny James is a sophomore second-rounder on a potentially promising developmental path, but the spotlight finds him for his bloodline, not his basketball ability. Flashy curiosities like first-round rookie Yang Hansen and 5'8" sophomore-to-be Yuki Kawamura filled some fun highlight reels, but they were never going to answer the pressing questions about whether they can survive physically at this level.

Those might have been some of this summer session's top appointment-viewing players, but they weren't, statistically speaking, the true elites of this tournament.

Speaking of those elites, while their performances may ultimately mean nothing—the desert has delivered its share of mirages over the years—they're still worth recognizing.

That's exactly what's happening here, as we're handing out 10 All-Summer League spots based solely on present performances and not long-term projections ahead of this weekend's finale.

Nique Clifford, Sacramento Kings

A first-round pick praised in the predraft process for his versatility, Clifford put all of that—and his improved outside shooting—on display in Sin City. This was no-category-left-untouched levels of stat-sheet stuffing, as he averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 blocks while shooting 58.3 percent overall and 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from range.

David Jones-Garcia, San Antonio Spurs

The leading scorer at the California Classic, Jones-Garcia kept shredding nets upon the league's shift to Las Vegas. And it wasn't just volume (though, at 21.3 points per game in Vegas, there was plenty of that), but this was efficient bucket-getting at that (51.7/50/90 shooting slash). Throw in his 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals, and he was knocking on the door of first-team honors.

Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder

Mitchell, last summer's 38th pick, was ahead of schedule before summer league started by virtue of finding actual floor time for the championship banner-raising Thunder. If his Sin City efforts were any indication, though, he might be headed toward more fast-forwarding. He did a little of everything over his first three outings, pacing the club in points (20) while ranking second in both rebounds (6.0) and assists (4.3).

KJ Simpson, Charlotte Hornets

While certainly not the most-heralded player on the summer Hornets, Simpson still left the biggest statistical imprint on the undefeated (as of writing) bunch. His team-high 19.3 points looked even better when paired with his 47.3/37/78.9 shooting slash, and he filled out his stat line with 5.5 assists (against 2.5 turnovers), 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

A.J. Lawson, Toronto Raptors

This past season, Lawson, who went undrafted out of South Carolina in 2019, parlayed his two-way pact into a non-guaranteed deal for the upcoming season. Based on what he's shown in Vegas, he might be worth keeping around. He's been arguably the biggest catalyst behind Toronto's dominant start (4-0 with a league-best plus-15.8 point differential), tallying a team-high 18.5 points (on 50/45.5/75.9 shooting) to go along with his 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 combined steals and blocks.

The hope for any NBA sophomore participating in summer league is to look so dominant that his employer concludes there's nothing left to gain in this setting and shuts them down. Filipowski needed just three games in Las Vegas to have that happen, torching opposing defenses to the tune of a summer league-best 29.3 points per game along the way.

At this point, the skilled 6'11", 250-pounder has analysts wondering aloud whether a starting job might be awaiting him this fall. Even for a rebuilder like the Jazz, that's still a rapid ascension for a 2024 second-round pick who wasn't even a rotation regular at the start of his rookie season.

This wasn't just an overload of volume-scoring, either. Filipowski neared the unguardable levels of shooting efficiency: 56.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three (on 7.7 attempts per outing). He also provided a presence on the glass (7.7 rebounds) and kept his teammates involved (2.3 assists).

To best capture his torrid run through Las Vegas, he had a 32-point, six-rebound, five-assist showing, and that was probably only his second-best performance (35-point, 11-rebound double-double). Even in a sample this size, his incredible play couldn't be ignored or denied.

Holland, last year's No. 5 pick, lit up Las Vegas like he had something to prove. Probably because he did.

His motor and athleticism popped as a rookie, but so did his offensive limitations. That's what made his summer session so encouraging. His activity and explosion were present again, but this time they were boosted by better touch and more reliable shooting. Aggressive without being reckless, he wound up netting 21.7 points (seventh-most in Vegas) and a 52.8/46.7/76.9 shooting slash.

"It's been amazing. I had a big summer," Holland said, per Pistons.com's Keith Langlois. "Been in the gym with Fred (Vinson, Pistons assistant) and (Jarrett Jack, Pistons assistant) a lot, but watched a lot of film of Cade (Cunningham) and game pace and just take everything I learned this summer and be able to showcase it in this summer league."

Like Filipowski, Holland only needed three showings to get shut down, but that was enough to highlight his rising star and earn this selection. When he wasn't busy getting buckets or splashing three-balls, he was racking up a ridiculous (and summer league-best) four steals per contest.

Few summer league participants figure to have as much impact on next season's championship race than Shannon. He might have been a fringe rotation player for Minnesota—he did see the team's ninth-most playoff minutes—but he's barreling toward a big role expansion following the free agency defection of Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Based on this summer, Shannon seems up for the challenge. He averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals in fewer than 30 minutes per game, all while tying together a sizzling 47.6/38.5/94.7 shooting slash and eliciting enormous praise from Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

"We think he has an ability to be an elite two-way player," Connelly said. "Toughness, approach to the game, work ethic is through the roof. ... We think the sky's the limit."

Who knows if Shannon's improvements will sustain, but he's been one of the best players in Las Vegas while making progress in particularly helpful areas, like long-range shooting and playmaking. If these gains are real, the Wolves could lose very little without Alexander-Walker. If they're not, Shannon still winds up with this first team spot anyway.

Three might be this year's magic number, because it's the same amount of games Timme needed to statistically separate from the pack and solidify his first-team spot.

Some of this probably should've been expected, since he's older (25 in September) and more experienced (254 NBA minutes this past season) than a lot of his competition. Then again, bullish fortune-tellers probably didn't even see quite this much coming: 25.3 points on 55.4 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 combined steals and blocks.

"I feel like guys from the other teams are a little bit, how can I say, underestimating him," Nets rookie Egor Demin told reporters. "He does everything to prove them wrong. His impact on the offensive side of the floor and defensive side of the floor, it's amazing. ... He's annoyingly good."

Timme's regular-season prospects remain fuzzy—the Nets are deep at center, and he might be a power forward (if he can defend them), anyway—but his summer has been first-team special.

Tomlin, who didn't play high school basketball, is more than just an incredible story. There's a non-zero chance he's on course to become a rotation player for the championship-chasing Cavaliers.

It would be the latest unbelievable development for the 6'10" forward, who will head out of Sin City as one of the most productive players in the entire tournament.

He led Cleveland in points (20.3), rebounds (8.5) and steals (2.0). He tied for second on the team in assists (3.8) and tied for third in blocks (1.0). Oh, and he did all of that while shooting 58.2 percent overall and 40.9 percent from the perimeter.

He was all over the glass, flashed intriguing ball skills and popped as a finisher. He made you notice him when he took the court, and he might have the chance to do the same during the regular season. There's a lot of trade "chatter" around Cavs forward Dean Wade, per cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, which could clear the runway for Tomlin to keep this takeoff going.