Mikel Brown Jr. got his first taste of NBA Summer League action on Monday, and the former Louisville guard made a solid opening statement for the Brooklyn Nets.
In Brooklyn’s 100-79 win over the Golden State Warriors Blue squad, Brown finished with 10 points, four assists, one rebound and two turnovers. It was his debut in Summer League after being taken sixth overall in the 2026 NBA Draft following one season with the Cardinals.
Brown’s lone year at Louisville was packed with production. He appeared in 21 games and averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot-5 Orlando, Florida, native also earned a spot on the ACC’s All-Rookie team and set the conference’s single-game freshman scoring record with 45 points in a Feb. 9 win over NC State at the KFC Yum! Center.
Brown wasn’t the only former Cardinal making noise in Summer League. Ryan Conwell, selected 37th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Miami Heat, has been on Miami’s roster alongside J’Vonne Hadley, who signed an Exhibit-10 contract with the Heat. Isaac McKneely also signed an Exhibit-10 deal and is playing with the Atlanta Hawks as both players look to earn roster spots.
Conwell and Hadley opened with a one-point win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, July 3, with Miami taking it 88-87. Conwell had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes, while Hadley added four points, six rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. Both started.
They were back in the lineup again on Sunday, July 5, when the Heat dropped a 95-93 double-overtime game to the Los Angeles Lakers. Conwell posted 16 points, five rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes, and Hadley finished with four points, four rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes.
McKneely’s Hawks debut came in a 103-102 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday, July 4. He scored five points in 10 minutes off the bench. Atlanta then bounced back Monday, July 6, with an 82-77 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and McKneely contributed eight points, four rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes off the bench.
Chucky Hepburn is also back in Summer League action. The guard, who signed a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors as an undrafted free agent after last year’s draft, is returning after tearing his meniscus in January. Toronto’s first Summer League game is Friday, July 10, in Las Vegas.
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Louisville Heads To Bahamas For First Look At New-Look Cardinals
Louisvilles mens basketball team is headed back to the Bahamas next summer for a pair of exhibition games at the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, giving Pat Kelsey another chance to put his roster through live action before the school year begins. The event, run by bdG Sports, has become a useful stop for teams looking for extra practices and a first look at how new pieces fit together, and Louisville will get that benefit on July 28 and 29.
For Kelsey, it also offers an early gauge on a group that looks very different from last seasons version of the Cardinals. Transfers Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad, Karter Knox and lvaro Folgueiras are among the newcomers joining freshmen Obinna Ekezie Jr., Boyuan Zhang and Isaac Ellis, and the trip should help sort out how quickly that mix comes together. The only real unknown now is what kind of international opposition Louisville will see across those two games. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Got The Recruiting Update Fans Were Waiting On
Mikel Brown Jr. finally got on the floor for Brooklyn in Summer League, and the early signs were encouraging for Louisville fans tracking his first taste of pro ball. After missing the Nets first two games, the former Cardinals guard returned in Sacramento and helped in a win, showing the shot-making and playmaking that made him such a key piece for the program before moving on.
Back in the recruiting lane, Louisville also got the kind of update that keeps a staff and fan base paying close attention. Five-star 2027 forward Demarcus Henry trimmed his list to a top eight, putting the Cardinals in a strong national mix as the race starts to take shape, while the program kept its own momentum visible by sharing practice footage that featured DeShayne Montgomery throwing down a dunk in the gym. [Read more 🡒]