The Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans are tipping off the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas on Prime Video.
Welcome to 2026 NBA Summer League!
All 30 NBA teams have sent squads of rookie, sophomores and NBA hopefuls, ready to vie for the Summer League championship and get a look at the fresh talents of the Association.
Our schedule starts with the Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans (3:30, Prime Video).
JULY 9 / 4:00 p.m. ET
Pelicans lead 25-24 after one
Kobe Bufkin (14 pts) and Zyon Pullin (10 pts) are dueling in the desert, as we’ve seen five lead changes and two ties in the first quarter of the opening game of the 2026 NBA Summer League.
Joan Beringer (6 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast) led the Timberwolves to a 10-2 advantage in points in the paint.
This angle of Beringer’s slam 🔥 https://t.co/nzVZYoVweN pic.twitter.com/8Ws1PEKGOo
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2026
Both teams are moving the rock — six assists on eight field goals for the Wolves, seven on eight field goals for the Pelicans.
JULY 9 / 3:57 p.m. ET
Bufkin getting buckets
Kobe Bufkin (12 pts) picked up back-to-back 4-point play opportunities here as the first quarter winds down, showing the form that netted him 25.0 ppg in the G League last season.
KOBE BUFKIN.
back-to-back 4-pt plays 😳 pic.twitter.com/B5eTV09sri
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 9, 2026
Kobe Bufkin, count it pic.twitter.com/KhoBalVLx8
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 9, 2026
Bufkin played 16 games for the Los Angeles Lakers as well in 2025-26, scoring 2.9 ppg in 7.4 mpg.
JULY 9 / 3:44 p.m. ET
The Nowell no-look
A little razzle-dazzle as we get started in Vegas.
Markquis Nowell, who was born in New York City, played his high school basketball at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, N.J. under Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr.
Nowell to Dickinson pic.twitter.com/eOJ2LXiVZI
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 9, 2026
16-15 Timberwolves with 3:36 to go in the first quarter.
JULY 9 / 3:31 p.m. ET
Beringer opens the scoring
Timberwolves’ big Joan Beringer gets the first bucket of the 2026 NBA Summer League, putting in a little jump hook.
The Wolves will assess how he looks next to a center, Stan Van Gundy noted, as he partners in the frontcourt with the 7-foot-3 Australian Rocco Zikarsky.
JULY 9 / 2:45 p.m. ET
Timberwolves-Pelicans opens Summer League
The Timberwolves roster is highlighted by Joan Beringer, the young French center who’s flashed for Minnesota in limited minutes, as well as March Madness hero Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The Pelicans roster features No. 58 pick Jaron Pierre Jr. and Kobe Bufkin, the 15th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, as well as sparkplug point guard Markquis Nowell.
JULY 9 / 2:30 p.m. ET
Learn more about the rookies
Before the summer action heats up, check out scouting reports on the 2026 NBA Draft class on our prospects page.
JULY 9 / 2:15 p.m. ET
New rule in play for Summer League
This summer, we’ll be testing the one free throw rule, which has been in place in the G League since the 2019-20 season.
The G League and Summer League have often served as testing labs for the league before bringing rule changes or amended policies into NBA games.
Among those that started at those levels and eventually got to the NBA: the coaches’ challenge, resetting the 24-second shot clock to 14 seconds in offensive rebound situations and the one-shot award for a transition take foul — which is when a defender intentionally commits a foul to halt a transition opportunity for the opposition.
The one free throw rule will be tested at the upcoming NBA summer leagues.
With this rule, any foul that would typically result in one, two or three free throws under standard NBA rules will instead result in a single free throw attempt. That attempt will be worth the same… pic.twitter.com/tFiOpJLnQW
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 2, 2026
The 2026 Summer League will also use a “connected basketball,” which contains a sensor that detects contact with the ball.
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