MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State men’s basketball will be well-represented with five former players in the NBA Summer League, which begins Monday (July 3) with the California Classic and the Salt Lake City Summer Leagues and continues with the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas from Friday, July 7 to Monday, July 17.
Recent players – Keyontae Johnson (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Markquis Nowell (Toronto Raptors) – will join Barry Brown Jr. (Phoenix Suns), Mark Smith (Denver Nuggets) and Xavier Sneed (Charlotte Hornets) in the summer league competition. Johnson and Nowell could see their first professional action after recently completing their K-State careers, while Brown and Smith return to the U.S. after impressive seasons playing professionally overseas. Sneed ended the 2022-23 season on the Hornets’ roster after signing a 2-way contract.
All the games will air on either an ESPN platform (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) or on NBA TV.
Salt Lake City Summer League [Salt Lake City, Utah] – Monday, July 3 and Wednesday-Thursday, July 5-6
California Classic Summer League [Sacramento, Calif.] – Monday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 5
Monday, July 3
7:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. San Antonio Spurs [ESPN2] Sacramento
8:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Utah Jazz [NBA TV] Salt Lake City
Wednesday, July 5
5:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. Golden State Warriors [ESPN2] Sacramento
6:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Memphis Grizzlies [NBA TV] Salt Lake City
Thursday, July 6
6:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Philadelphia 76ers [ESPN2] Salt Lake City
NBA 2K24 Summer League [Las Vegas, Nev.] – Friday, July 7 – Monday, July 17*
Friday, July 7
4:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets [Smith] vs. Milwaukee Bucks [ESPNU]
5:30 p.m. – Toronto Raptors [Nowell] vs. Chicago Bulls [NBA TV]
8:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. San Antonio Spurs [ESPN]
Saturday, July 8
2:30 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Dallas Mavericks [ESPN2]
4:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns [Brown] vs. Milwaukee Bucks [NBA TV]
Sunday, July 9
2:30 p.m. – Toronto Raptors [Nowell] vs. Cleveland Cavaliers [NBA TV]
3:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. L.A. Lakers [ESPN2]
8:30 p.m. – Denver Nuggets [Smith] vs. Atlanta Hawks [NBA TV]
Monday, July 10
1:30 p.m. – Phoenix Suns [Brown] vs. Miami HEAT [NBA TV]
Tuesday, July 11
3:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns [Brown] vs. New Orleans Pelicans [ESPN2]
5:30 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Houston Rockets [NBA TV]
7:30 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. Portland Trail Blazers [NBA TV]
Wednesday, July 12
5:00 p.m. – Toronto Raptors [Nowell] vs. Detroit Pistons [ESPN2]
6:30 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Indiana Pacers [NBA TV]
8:30 p.m. – Denver Nuggets [Smith] vs. Utah Jazz [NBA TV]
Thursday, July 13
4:00 p.m. – Toronto Raptors [Nowell] vs. Brooklyn Nets [ESPN2]
6:30 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets [Sneed] vs. New Orleans Pelicans [NBA TV]
Friday, July 14
4:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder [Johnson] vs. Washington Wizards [ESPNU]
6:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns [Brown] vs. Utah Jazz [ESPN2]
8:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets [Smith] vs. Miami HEAT [ESPN2]
All times are Central
*The teams with the best records will advance to the semifinals on Sunday, July 16 before the championship game on Monday, July 17.
ROAD TO SUMMER LEAGUES
Johnson became the first Wildcat since 2017 to be selected in the NBA Draft when he was chosen in the second round by the Thunder on June 22. Later that evening, Nowell signed a 2-way deal with the Raptors.
Brown got a coveted summer league roster spot with the Suns after an impressive 2022-23 season playing in Australia and France, where he helped lead his respective teams to the league finals. He averaged 12.6 points on 49.1 percent shooting with 2.1 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 11 games for the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92, where he played alongside a pair of NBA lottery picks, including No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.
Smith was the leading scorer (16.5 ppg.) and rebounder (6.9 rpg.) for BG Goettingen, which plays in the top league in Germany - the Basketball Bundesliga League (BBL).
Sneed currently has a 2-way deal with Charlotte, having started in 32 games with the team’s G-League franchise – the Greensboro Swarm – before being promoted and playing in 4 games for the Hornets in 2022-23.