Chaney Johnson has done more than hold his own in Summer League. He’s put himself in the conversation for a bigger slice of Brooklyn’s rotation next season.
The two-way forward has been one of the Nets’ most eye-catching performers this month, even on a roster packed with five first-round picks. What stands out most isn’t just the production. It’s the way Johnson is doing the dirty work, banging inside, defending multiple spots and forcing his way into the action every night.
Brooklyn’s staff, though, wasn’t surprised.
“I knew Chaney was a beast. It’s further confirmed,” Nets Summer League coach Dutch Gaitley said.
Chaney Johnson was dunking everything in tonight's NBA Summer League action 💪
— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2026
20 PTS (9-13 FGM)
10 REB
5 STL pic.twitter.com/W0BA7b8v2I
“When we got Chaney and watched film on him, I was like, I think this guy's an NBA player. And the best part about him is we're playing him out of position.
He's a 6'7″ center and he's dominating the game defensively. We can't even put him on the best perimeter defenders because we need him to guard bigs.
Just imagine when he's going to be able to show what he can do against the perimeter defenders.
Chaney is outstanding. He is an NBA-level athlete, he's an NBA-level defender, and I'm very happy he's on our team.
But he's capable of way more than we're allowing him to show [right now]… If we needed Chaney to play point guard, Chaney would play point guard. He does whatever is called for the team.
He’s an outstanding teammate. He plays as hard as anybody on the court.
I think he’s got a really bright future.”
That kind of praise tracks with what Johnson has shown since arriving in Brooklyn. He went undrafted out of Auburn, signed with the Nets on a two-way contract during last season, and later got a late-year NBA call-up that offered a glimpse of what he could bring. He’s back on another two-way deal for next season.
Now he’s giving the Nets a reason to think bigger.
Through four Summer League games, Johnson has averaged 15.0 points while shooting 22-of-34, or 64.7 percent, from the field. He’s also hit 4-of-6 from three, grabbed 9.0 rebounds per game and added 2.8 steals a night. The numbers match the eye test: strength through contact, burst in the open floor and enough defensive versatility to bother different kinds of players.
“That dude is a dog,” Egor Demin said of Johnson. “He's the type of player that he's the favorite teammate of anybody because he does all the hard work without [us] feeling like we owe him something.
He just does it because that's what he's doing, and sometimes I feel bad because we don't reward him enough for his work out there to help us to be successful. He takes it very humbly from a standpoint of like, hey, I'm here for you and anybody else around.
I think the level of my appreciation towards him is hard to explain. I think he's amazing.”
Johnson’s rookie season gave Brooklyn a smaller sample of the same profile. In 17 games, he averaged 8.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting .543/.300/.800 in 20.5 minutes per game. When Day'Ron Sharpe was out with a thumb injury, Johnson spent most of his time as a small-ball center, and that role has carried over into Summer League.
The Nets’ center picture has changed since then. After the trade of Nic Claxton, Sharpe and free agent Moe Wagner are expected to split the minutes at the five. Johnson is undersized for the position, but his strength and athleticism give him a chance to be useful as a third option.
How far he can stretch beyond that depends on one thing: the jumper. Johnson shot 33.0 percent on 3.4 three-point attempts per 36 minutes across 41 G League and NBA appearances as a rookie.
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Randle did not sugarcoat the challenge ahead, and that is part of what makes his voice matter for a team trying to climb back into relevance. Brooklyn is still leaning into development while trying to add real structure around its younger pieces, and Randles arrival gives the Nets a more established presence as they try to turn potential into something sturdier, even if the next step may be more incremental than dramatic. [Read more 🡒]
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Joshua Jefferson Just Got His First Real Nets Test
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For Jefferson, it was also his first competitive game since March after an injury interrupted his spring and kept him from even getting practice reps. He sounded confident about how his game can translate into Brooklyns rotation, especially with the way he sees the floor and keeps the ball moving, but the bigger question is where that skill set fits once the roster is set and the minutes start getting divided up. [Read more 🡒]