The Clippers got a much-needed jolt from their top draft pick on Sunday night, and Kobe Sanders made sure everyone in the building knew it.
Keaton Wagler, the fifth overall pick out of Illinois, shook off a sluggish start to Las Vegas NBA Summer League by putting up 23 points in a Los Angeles win. It was the kind of bounce-back performance the Clippers were hoping to see after a rough opening stretch last week.
Sanders didn’t wait long after the final buzzer to celebrate his teammate. He crashed Wagler’s postgame interview on live TV and went out of his way to praise the young guard.
"TOP 5! TOP 5!"
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 13, 2026
Kobe Sanders was fired up for Keaton Wagler after the No. 5 pick scored 23 in a Clippers win 😅
(via @NBAonPrime)pic.twitter.com/N490zEr4cj
Wagler’s rise over the past season came on the back of a big year at Illinois, where he flashed deep shooting range and the kind of playmaking that made him stand out. His size for a point guard only added to the buzz, and it helped fuel comparisons to NBA names like Tyrese Haliburton.
Sunday’s outing may have been a timely reset for Wagler as the Summer League rolls on. After an uneven start, a 23-point night gives him a fresh platform to build on.
Elsewhere, the biggest Clippers storyline remains the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors, which is still on hold while the NBA continues its investigation into Leonard’s alleged no-show deal with Aspiration. If the deal falls apart or the Clippers end up with less than the return package that was first reported, it would be a significant setback for a team that had been praised for finally looking ahead and moving on from the current era.
The Clippers’ 2026-27 season schedule is expected to be released sometime next month.
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Wagler finished with 23 points, four assists and a steal, and the bigger takeaway was how quickly he turned the game in the Clippers favor once he found his rhythm. The challenge now is whether he can carry that momentum into the next test, with game three against the Los Angeles Lakers offering a much sharper measuring stick for how real this bounce-back might be. [Read more 🡒]