LAS VEGAS - TyTy Washington Jr. knows exactly what this stage is for.
Summer League can be a showcase, a reset button, or a last open door, and for the Magic guard it’s all of the above. After being taken by the Grizzlies in the first round of the 2022 draft and then moving through four franchises across four seasons, Washington is back in Las Vegas trying to turn another opportunity into something bigger.
“I think it just really all comes down to opportunity,” Washington told the Orlando Sentinel. His draft night gave him an immediate lesson in how fast things can change. He was traded twice that night, going from Memphis to Minnesota to Houston.
“You’ve got to be in the right situation. Sometimes you get lucky, you know?
But really, it’s just (about) an opportunity. You put in your work until your number’s called.
When your number’s called, you make the most of it and never look back.”
The 24-year-old guard had come off the bench in Orlando’s first two Summer League games heading into Sunday’s exhibition against the Portland Trail Blazers at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion. Through those two appearances, he averaged 5.5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 14.6 minutes per game.
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity,” Washington said. “Summer league’s a time for you to come out here and showcase what you’ve been putting in the offseason. I’m just happy the Magic gave me an opportunity to come out here and do that.”
Washington’s path has already taken him through the Clippers, Suns, Bucks and Rockets, but Orlando isn’t a completely new world for him. He already knew Summer League coach D.J. Bakker, who will also be an assistant under new Magic coach Sean Sweeney.
Bakker was on Milwaukee’s staff when Washington was there on a two-way contract during the 2023-24 season.
“I’ve known D.J. for quite some time,” Washington said. “(He is) a real good coach, real passionate.
He wants what’s best for us. He’s been around the NBA so he’s just harping on what’s going to carry over from the G League or summer league and really carry over to the NBA and what really matters.”
A native of Arizona, Washington spent one year at Kentucky in the SEC before entering the league. He has appeared in 74 career NBA regular season games, most recently with the Clippers, and has also played in 66 G League regular season games with Rio Grande Valley, Wisconsin, Valley Suns and San Diego.
This summer, he says the goal is simple: show he can play the right way, knock down open shots and stretch the floor.
“I just want to come out here and show that I know how to play basketball the right way, knock down open shots, (and) be able to space the floor,” Washington said. “Basketball’s becoming positionless so (if) you can shoot the 3-ball above 40%, you can help any NBA team.
“That’s really my biggest goal. I’ve worked on my body a ton this past offseason so (I’m) really here just showcasing my physical side of that and just coming out and playing hard.”
Orlando has used its Summer League team before as a landing spot for veterans trying to stick. Jay Huff went from a summer run with the Magic in July 2024 to a bigger role with Indiana, where he played in all 82 games and made 47 starts last season. In 2025, Skal Labissiere and Wendell Moore Jr. both joined Orlando in Las Vegas and earned contracts after the summer.
Washington is hoping his turn follows that kind of path. He said he wants teams around the league to see the work he’s put into his body and understand that the issue was never talent.
“It was never a talent thing,” he said. “So, I feel like if I could just show everyone (and) pass the eye test, I feel like I could better my chances of sticking around the NBA.”
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