The Washington Wizards Summer League squad is in Las Vegas and ready to roll. In their first game, they take on a fun and talented Pacers team. Here's everything you need to know.
WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2, NBCSW
BILAL COULIBALY & TRISTAN VUKCEVIC
The Wizards made two big acquisitions on draft night this year, acquiring Bilal Coulibaly (the seventh overall pick) and Tristan Vukcevic (the 42nd overall pick). Now, D.C. fans will get to see Coulibaly and Vukcevic suit up together for the first time in a Wizards uniform.
Coulibaly, the 6-foot-6 guard from France, will get opportunities to play both on and off the ball as he attempts to showcase the different aspects of his offensive game. Defensively, he'll likely be tasked with guarding the opposing team's toughest scorers.
Vukcevic, the 7-foot floor spacer from KK Partizan Belgrade (Serbia), said he sees himself playing both the four and the five depending on who else is on the floor.
"It just depends on the lineup of the other team," said Vukcevic. "If it's a tall, slow five, I'd love to play the five, pop, and take him out of the paint. So it just really depends on the matchup."
Having Coulibaly and Vukcevic rock the Wizards' red, white and blue will be a fun sight for Wizards fans.
VETS SLOWING THINGS DOWN
The first game of Summer League always comes with some extra jitters. For many of the young guys, it's their first experience donning an NBA uniform. That alone is enough to jolt the nervous system, but then factor in everything else (new teammates, new coaches, faster pace, different spacing, etc.), and it's understandable to see why the first game can get a little hectic.
That's where veterans of the Summer League process can really make their respective mark on the game. Johnny Davis, Xavier Cooks and Quenton Jackson will be three guys the Wizards lean on to help slow things down when chaos hits the court.
Davis, Cooks and Jackson all earned time and have experience playing on the biggest stage with the Wizards. Davis and Jackson were also in the Summer League as recently as last season, while Cooks has five years of professional basketball overseas to lean on. Be on the lookout for those guys to slow things down when the game speeds up.
BACKCOURT BATTLE
This matchup with the Pacers features tons of backcourt talent on both sides. The Summer League Pacers are led by Bennedict Mathurin, a rising star who averaged nearly 17 points per game during his rookie season in 2022-23. Surrounding him are Andrew Nembhard and Isaiah Wong -- two guards who can fill it up in their own right.
The Wizards will look to match that with Coulibaly, Davis and Jackson. The guard play will be relatively high-level no matter who's on the court for either team, and that makes this an extremely interesting way to kick off Summer League.