Keaton Wagler’s NBA Summer League debut had a rough opening, but by the time the lights went out Friday night, the Los Angeles Clippers rookie had turned the whole thing into a statement.
The No. 5 overall pick finished his four-game run with a burst that matched the moment. In the Clippers’ 128-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wagler put up 26 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. He shot 9-of-19 from the field and 4-of-5 at the line, and he was the driving force behind a night that ended with a record attached to it.
The Clippers were already out of the championship picture, but that didn’t dull the performance. Los Angeles’ 128 points were the most any team has ever scored in the Las Vegas version of the summer league, which began in 2004. Wagler was right in the middle of that historic output, attacking early and looking far more comfortable with the pace and physicality of the NBA game.
That was a big shift from where things started. In his first summer league game, Wagler didn’t look like himself, and he said he would go back to the film and make adjustments. He did exactly that.
Across the four games he played - he missed one of the Clippers’ five summer league contests - Wagler averaged 18.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He also shot 38.6% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 80.0% from the free throw line.
Take out that first game, and the line gets even cleaner. The turnaround was quick, and it looked a lot like the kind of adjustment he made at Illinois.
For anyone ready to pile on after that opening game, Friday was the answer. Wagler closed strong, and the Clippers got a record night to go with it.
In Other News...
Illinois May Have Found The Freshman Duo To Transform Underwood's Offense
Illinois has spent plenty of time building toward the 2026 season, and the latest step in that process comes with two freshmen who should fit neatly into Brad Underwoods push for more youth and more explosiveness. The class is already sitting No. 5 in the Big Ten, and the addition of two highly regarded in-state prospects gives the Illini another layer of upside as they continue shaping the roster around long-term growth.
One of the newcomers arrives with the kind of pedigree that tends to raise expectations quickly, while the other brings the size and athleticism that can change how a lineup looks on the floor. For Illinois, the appeal is obvious: if both players develop as hoped, they could give Underwood a different kind of offense than the one fans have seen in recent seasons, even if the true ceiling of that pairing will take some time to reveal itself. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois May Have Quietly Solved Its Biggest Post Altmyer Question
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Housers 2025 tape and production helped make him one of the more intriguing quarterbacks in the portal, even if the level of competition leaves some room for debate. He also brings a rsum that includes a stint in the Big Ten and a season that put him on the radar for teams looking for a steadier hand under center, which is why Illinois can at least feel better about the transition than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]
Why Shauna Green Took Illinois When So Many Saw A Lost Cause
Shauna Green did not exactly walk into the Illinois job with the kind of outside buzz that usually accompanies a high-profile hire. The programs recent history was hard to ignore, with only three winning seasons since 2007, repeated Big Ten struggles and no NCAA Tournament appearance in more than two decades. Even so, athletics director Josh Whitman had a vision for what the job could become, and he took the time to lay it out directly to Green in a way that made the possibility feel different than the rsum suggested.
Green still had to weigh what she was stepping into, and the lack of external encouragement around the hire only made the decision more complicated. Whitmans pitch helped shift the conversation inside her own home, and once the family perspective changed, the path toward Illinois became clearer. The bigger question now is whether the belief that sold Green on the job can translate into the kind of turnaround the program has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]