The final game of the 2025-26 season was played on June 13, 2026, when the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Finals to capture their first championship since 1973. That celebratory moment felt like a lifetime ago.
In the past four weeks, the NBA Draft Lottery, NBA Draft, and free agency have all either concluded or commenced. There’s been plenty of roster movement — league-altering trades, agreed-upon free agency deals and more. And just as we try to catch our breat, the NBA Summer League is upon us. In the following sections, I’ll highlight 10 returning players who fantasy managers should pay attention to in the California Classic, Salt Lake City Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League.
Carter Bryant — San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs’ young players accelerated their learning curve this past season and, as a result, finished way ahead of schedule with an NBA Finals berth. While Carter’s minutes per game weren’t very high as a rookie (11.1), he has a case for being included on that accelerated path, albeit comfortably behind the likes of Dylan Harper, his fellow 2035 draft classmate. He logged minutes in several big-time postseason games for the Spurs less than one month ago. And with the uncertain future of Harrison Barnes, Bryant has a chance to play a much larger role as a second-year player — even with Tobias Harris being added to the equation.
Bryant was already a notable performer in the 2025 Summer League and should be one of the better guys to lace them up during these offseason games. A good showing could give him a head start and a potential second-year leap, leading to greater fantasy value.
Carter Bryant SOARED through the air and finished this MONSTER dunk.
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 29, 2026
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/Kmla3U94mo
Javon Small — Memphis Grizzlies
Once it was clear the direction Memphis was moving in last season — trading away Jaren Jackson Jr. and shutting down Ja Morant — Small got a chance to audition for a prominent role. His time to shine came after the All-Star Break, when he immediately logged a 16-point, four-steal performance before playing well over the next 20 games and posting averages of 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 1.3 steals on 50.8/45.7/84.2 shooting splits post-All-Star Break. With Morant departed to Portland via trade, there’s no clear starting point guard over in Memphis at the moment. A strong Summer League showing should provide fantasy managers confidence that, at the very least, Small returns as a nightly contributor off the bench. At best, he earns a full-time starting gig at point guard, which could equate to meaningful fantasy production.
Will Richard & LJ Cryer — Golden State Warriors
Jimmy Butler is recovering from ACL surgery. Moses Moody is also rehabbing a season-ending knee injury, while Gary Payton II remains a free agent. Whether LeBron James takes his talents to the Bay Area or not this offseason, the list of perimeter options becomes short once you get past Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, and De’Anthony Melton. This sort of roster construction, although far from complete, makes both Will Richard and LJ Cryer very intriguing second-year players.
Richard played a good amount as a rookie — fairly consistent minutes throughout — and had more than his share of opportunities to contribute along the way. Three-point shooting and playmaking are things he’ll probably need to shore up in order to make a leap in production and become a reliable fantasy option during the 2026-27 season. Cryer’s rookie campaign was the complete opposite — the undrafted rookie landed on a two-way contract and didn’t earn consistent rotation minutes until later in the season, when he mostly made his mark as an efficient, high-volume three-point shooter. How comfortable each player looks during these summer league games will be telling.
Ace Bailey — Utah Jazz
With the additions of Jaren Jackson Jr. ahead of the 2025-26 trade deadline and No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Darryn Peterson, Utah added to its mix of proven talent and high-upside players. Ace Bailey, heading into Year 2, fits more the latter description than the former, but he’ll want to stand out and turn some heads going into what could be a crowded 2026-27 regular-season rotation. It’s pretty simple: if you’re the Jazz, you want to see enough from Bailey to feel comfortable sending him home after a couple of games. Bailey’s play style is tailor-made for this Summer League type of environment. If he struggles here, it would come as a surprise, considering he performed well as a rookie and has the tools to blossom into a valuable fantasy contributor, provided his playing time and role remain intact and there is room for growth.
Career night for Ace Bailey 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2026
🏀 32 PTS (career-high)
🏀 7 3PM (career-high)
🏀 Jazz W pic.twitter.com/estDmbMxSA
Egor Demin & Ben Saraf — Brooklyn Nets
While Nolan Traore’s recent knee surgery will keep him off the court during the Summer League, Demin and Saraf will share backcourt responsibilities with the latest Nets first-round pick, point guard Mikel Brown. Brown’s arrival in Brooklyn as a top-6 pick in the 2026 draft instantly puts pressure on both players to rise to the occasion and perform at a level that prevents them from being in a situation where they could be cast out. Perhaps that way of thinking is premature and a bit extreme at this time of the year, but it’s not unfathomable, given the team’s draft investments at guard.
Demin and Saraf flashed more than a few times as rookies and finished the season as capable but inefficient scorers with some upside as playmakers. Their long-term fantasy value could tilt with each passing Summer League game.
Asa Newell — Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta spent a first-round pick on Newell around this time last offseason but didn’t get much value from him over the course of the 82-game season. He thrived in the NBA G League and also proved to be an efficient scorer across his 44 appearances with the main team. The Hawks didn’t have a lot of frontcourt size last season, and as currently constructed, could still benefit from another big body off the bench to soak up minutes in the nightly rotation. Summer League feels like the perfect opportunity to turn some heads and instill some confidence in the front office that their frontcourt depth is viable. If that’s the role he ultimately lands in for the 2026-27 season, his fantasy upside should increase.
Nique Clifford — Sacramento Kings
Before the All-Star Break, Clifford appeared in 52 games, averaging 6.6 points and 1.7 assists in 21.3 minutes per game. After the break, those numbers doubled to 13.2 points and 4.0 assists (5.2 rebounds, as well) on much better 44.8/35.9/73.7 shooting splits over 23 games. The type of second-half progression that the rookie displayed is an encouraging sign heading into his sophomore campaign. Even with the addition of Darius Acuff Jr. via the draft, Clifford could still find himself in a strong position to succeed in the team’s backcourt rotation. So much so, he may even be a solid fantasy option if Zach LaVine is no longer in Sacramento’s plans.
Cormac Ryan — Milwaukee Bucks
Ryan will have a chance during this Summer League to carry the momentum from his end-of-season run into another opportunity to play NBA minutes this upcoming season. Albeit on a depleted Bucks team toward the end of the season that was no longer fighting for a playoff spot, the rookie showed some real NBA qualities down the stretch. He played only 11 games in total while on a two-way contract. Still, he was nearly a 20.0 points per game scorer over the final eight games of the season, while posting 54.0/47.9/95.2 shooting splits. It was a somewhat unexpected stretch that Ryan endured toward this season’s conclusion. Similar production would obviously become useful for fantasy managers if the role and production remained. But again, we could have more clarity on how big or small a role he could occupy come October, depending on how he performs over the summer.
