The Las Vegas Summer League is rolling, and a long list of Tar Heels and former Tar Heels are already getting their first real run in front of NBA eyes. Some have flashed, some have struggled, and a few are still fighting for a longer look. Through the first weekend in Vegas, the Carolina contingent has been busy.
Henri Veesaar picked up right where he left off in Utah. The Atlanta Hawks big man opened with 14 points and six rebounds against San Antonio, knocking down five of eight shots and two of five from deep in 19 minutes off the bench.
His second outing was quieter: six points and one rebound in 17 minutes during a win over the Nets, with three makes on five shots and a miss on his lone three-point try. Atlanta’s next game is Monday against the Celtics.
Drake Powell’s second summer league stretch has been rough. The Brooklyn Nets starter has managed just five points in 45 minutes over two games in Las Vegas, and every one of those points has come at the line.
He is 0-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-4 from three. Still, Powell has chipped in five rebounds, three assists, and only one turnover despite the shooting slump.
Caleb Wilson’s start with the Chicago Bulls has been strong enough to invite a comparison. Against the perceived top three for the 2026 draft, Wilson averaged 26 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.8 blocks, 2.3 turnovers, and shot 62.3 percent from the field.
The top three, in turn, averaged 21.8 points, seven rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.83 blocks, 3.5 turnovers, and 49.2 percent shooting against Wilson. He is 2-2 in those games, with both losses coming by a combined three points.
Assuming no one gets shut down, Wilson’s next two games are against Peterson and Dybantsa, giving the number 4 pick two more chances to make his case.
Cormac Ryan got back on the floor for Milwaukee after missing the Bucks’ final two California Summer League games. His first Vegas outing against the Heat wasn’t clean - seven points on 2-for-7 shooting, including 1-for-4 from three, plus eight rebounds, two blocks, and four turnovers in 22 minutes during a 30-point loss.
He bounced back against the Spurs with 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals off the bench. Milwaukee plays the Suns on Monday.
Pete Nance started both of his games for the Bucks and looked efficient in the opener. Against the Heat, he scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds while going 6-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three in 21 minutes.
His second start against the Spurs was more subdued, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, and five assists. He, too, gets the Suns on Monday.
Tyler Nickel has been one of the more productive former Tar Heels in Vegas. The New York Knicks guard scored 18 points and hit six of 10 threes in his first game against the Nets, then followed with 16 points and four made triples on 4-for-11 shooting in his second.
Both games ended in blowout losses, but Nickel did his part. New York’s next game is Monday against the Pistons.
RJ Davis has kept building momentum for the San Antonio Spurs. After two solid games in California, including one start, he opened Vegas with 12 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench against the Hawks.
Two days later he posted five points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 18 bench minutes in a blowout win over the Knicks. He had three turnovers in both games, but still looked useful.
Then came his best outing of the summer: a second start, 20 points, three assists, and two steals in 29 minutes in a win over the Bucks. San Antonio plays the Jazz on Wednesday.
Seth Trimble is still trying to turn his opportunity with the Washington Wizards into something more. The Exhibit 10 signee has looked solid so far.
Against the Jazz, he had two points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 12 minutes off the bench. Against the Kings, he added eight points, five rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
His best path may be a G-League deal, and he is showing enough across the board to keep that possibility alive. Washington faces the Bulls on Tuesday.
Two other former Tar Heels also landed summer league opportunities. Jalen Washington signed with the Bulls, though he did not play in Chicago’s one game this weekend. Caleb Love signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he is not on the Sixers’ Summer League roster.
In Other News...
Caleb Wilson Just Reopened A Painful Hubert Davis Debate At UNC
Caleb Wilsons Summer League debut gave the Bulls a glimpse of why they took the 6-foot-10 forward fourth overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, and it also revived an old North Carolina question about what he might have been in Chapel Hill. Wilson knocked down seven three-pointers, matching the total he had in college, a sharp reminder of how much his game has changed since leaving UNC. The perimeter touch was never the biggest part of his profile there, but it has quickly become one of the reasons Chicago sees a far wider path for him at the next level.
Wilson has said his shooting growth came after he left college and could devote far more time to repetition, building a routine that has transformed his range. For UNC fans, the awkward part is obvious: if this version of Wilson had shown up sooner, the Tar Heels might have been able to use him in a very different way. Instead, his breakout only deepens the debate over how much of his college usage was a product of fit, and how much was a missed opportunity for a team that could have used more spacing around its guards. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Draft Day Just Delivered Bigger Validation Than Tar Heels Fans Expected
North Carolinas baseball program spent the first day of the 2026 MLB Draft turning a strong season into a louder national statement. Several Tar Heels came off the board in quick succession, with Schaffner going 20th overall, Hull following at 67th, DeCaro at 80th and Lynch at 97th, a run that underscored how much talent was packed into Chapel Hill this spring.
For UNC, the bigger takeaway is not just the number of players selected, but the range of interest they drew from across the league. Boston accounted for two of the early picks, while Pittsburgh and San Diego joined in on the Tar Heels haul, and the night may not even be finished for Carolina yet, with more names still in play as the draft moves into later rounds. [Read more 🡒]