NBA Summer League has a way of turning every possession into a referendum, and former UConn players are right in the middle of that spotlight. A few games into the action in Vegas, Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr., Liam McNeeley and Tristen Newton have all already given fans something to chew on.
Karaban’s start has been the roughest. After a right ankle sprain in practice sidelined him for the Sacramento Kings’ first three Summer League games at the California Classic, the former Huskies captain finally got his first taste of Vegas and it did not go smoothly.
In his debut, he went scoreless, missing all six shots and all four of his 3-point tries. He bounced back some on Sunday, scoring three points in 23 minutes by hitting one of two from deep and adding two rebounds in the Kings’ 104-85 loss to the Wizards.
Top overall pick AJ Dybantsa led the way in that one with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Reed, meanwhile, has looked like the same steady force UConn fans remember. He opened Vegas with back-to-back double-doubles, and even in a quieter outing he still found ways to impact the game.
In San Antonio’s 70-49 win over the Knicks on Saturday, he finished with 5 points, 9 rebounds and 5 turnovers. The Spurs then held him out Sunday in the second half of the back-to-back.
Still, there’s plenty for San Antonio to like from its first-round pick, who looks capable of stepping into a role for a team with title hopes next season.
McNeeley has been the hottest of the bunch. The former Husky, who wasn’t always the most consistent player during his lone season in Storrs, has caught fire in a big way this summer.
He exploded for 28 points on 7-for-8 shooting from 3-point range on Thursday, then followed it with 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting Sunday. Through three games, he’s averaging 21.7 points and shooting 52.6 percent from beyond the arc.
He also added 8 rebounds in the Hornets’ 87-75 loss to the Celtics. After an injury-plagued rookie season, he now has a chance to push into Charlotte’s rotation.
Newton is doing what he’s always done: putting points on the board. The former UConn star hasn’t broken into an NBA rotation yet, but he’s been productive in the G League, where he finished First Team All-G League last season while averaging 25.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4 assists.
He kept scoring in Houston’s second Summer League game on Sunday, finishing with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in a loss to the Raptors. The numbers weren’t especially clean - he shot 4-for-13 from the field, didn’t record an assist and had three turnovers - but he did open Summer League with 13 points, 2 assists and 3 steals in a win over the Nuggets on Friday.
In Other News...
UConn Fans Should Stay Patient With Alex Karaban's Quiet NBA Start
Alex Karabans first NBA summer with Sacramento has been quieter than UConn fans might have expected, but there is a straightforward reason for it. The Kings took him with the 29th pick in the 2026 NBA draft, and his early run in Summer League has been limited as he works through the transition to the pro game while getting up to speed in a new environment.
Karaban has seen only brief minutes in two games and is still learning the Kings system after five years in Dan Hurleys program at UConn. The bigger picture has not changed much around him, either, since there is no indication the organization views this as anything more than a normal adjustment period for a rookie finding his footing. [Read more 🡒]
Several Former Huskies Are Suddenly Forcing NBA Teams To Notice
A few former Huskies have been turning heads in Las Vegas, and the Summer League stage has given NBA teams a fresh look at why UConn players keep showing up on pro radars. Liam McNeeley delivered the loudest scoring night, pouring in 28 points for Charlotte in a win over Orlando, while Tarris Reed kept flashing the inside game that made him such a difficult matchup in college by stacking up double-doubles against the Lakers and Hawks.
Tristen Newton has also made his case with Houston, adding 13 points and three steals while drawing praise from Dan Hurley for his potential as a rotational player. For UConn, it is another reminder that the programs recent pipeline is not just producing names for draft boards, but players who can walk into summer competition and force NBA staffs to pay attention a little sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]