Victor Wembanyama with Riley Minix after he made the game-winning shot.
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• Summer League: Complete Coverage
Day 5 in Las Vegas featured a slew of draft prospects as well as promising undrafted players vying to show their potential. From lottery picks to late first-round selections to G League veterans, options abounded for teams eyeing ways to improve for this season.
Here are the standouts from Day 5 of NBA 2K26 Summer League:
Kobe Bufkin, Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks’ guard hasn’t hit the floor often in his two seasons to date, with injuries limiting him to just 27 of a potential 164 games (though Bufkin did log another 14 in the G League as a rookie). Bufkin finished Monday’s 111-108 overtime victory with 25 points (8-15 FG, 4-8 3PM) and a pair of steals. That leaves his three-game averages at 21.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. The field-goal percentage needs to come up (35.4%; 27.3% from deep), but connecting on 8.0 of 8.3 free-throw attempts each game will cushion that one.
Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls
Matas Buzelis racks up a game-high 28 points against the Pacers on Monday.
The second-year forward continued to build on a solid rookie campaign, dominating Monday throughout the Bulls’ 114-105 victory. Buzelis shot 8-for-14 (2-4 3PM), with a downhill edge to his game that earned 13 trips to the line. The final line: 28 points, five rebounds, a steal and a block.
His rookie teammate, Noa Essengue, turned in a solid 21-point performance (7-14 FGs, 3-8 3PM), but ended up on the wrong side of this Johnny Furphy poster. After getting the business, maybe a different decision next time. Yikes.
Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
The No. 4 overall pick in this year’s Draft, Knueppel struggled to find his shot during Friday’s Vegas debut (5 points, 1-8 FGs, 0-5 3PM). But Monday’s outing highlighted a game that contains depth beyond the obvious shooting skill: sure, there’s the 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting (3-5 3PM), but the 10 rebounds and four assists reveal the Duke product’s commitment to finding contributions. If he can serve as a connector while playing alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, Knueppel could ensure the Hornets further flummox opponents on that end of the floor; locking in on defense would actually elevate their overall ceiling.
Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz | Riley Minix, San Antonio Spurs
With 1.9 seconds left in overtime, it looked like Kyle Filipowski was set to play hero: yet another big game, this time 35 points – on 11-19 FGs, 5-8 3PM, 8-12 FTs – to go with 11 rebounds, including an offensive board to set up a game-tying (contested!) dunk just before the finish. That set the stage for Minix, who caught the inbounds facing the sideline on the right wing, Jameer Nelson Jr. draped on his back. But the two-way Spurs swingman spun baseline off the catch and rose clean into a game-winner as the buzzer sounded. A Summer League Superman saves the day for San Antonio.
Nique Clifford, Sacramento Kings
The Kings targeted Clifford toward the end of the first round, trading a protected 2027 first to Oklahoma City for the chance to pick up the Colorado State product. He showed the full range of his promise on Monday, turning in 19 points (7-8 FGs, 3-3 3PM), three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in 24 minutes during Sacramento’s 94-76 win over the Suns. The Kings put together a suffocating effort up front, as the starting Phoenix frontcourt shot only a combined 5-for-26.
