The Nets‘ youth movement is well underway, and the next chance for the team’s developing talent to showcase their improvement will come at NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas July 12-22.
The Nets reached the tournament semifinals in their 9th appearance at the summer showcase last year. This year’s squad will be led by Steve Hetzel, Brooklyn’s lead assistant under first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant on the Portland Trail Blazers’ staff.
Brooklyn’s first guaranteed summer league game will be played on Friday, July 12 against the Indiana Pacers at Cox Pavillion. Its next two games will be played against the Los Angeles Clippers and Knicks on Sunday, July 14 and Tuesday, July 16 at Thomas & Mack Center. Its final guaranteed game will be against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, July 18 back at Cox Pavillion.
The top four teams in pool play will advance to the playoff bracket. The two semifinal games will take place on July 21 and the winner of those games will match up in the championship game on July 22. Teams that do not qualify for the playoff bracket will play a fifth game on either July 20 or July 21.
The Nets’ summer league roster will be headlined by Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead, Jalen Wilson and Jacob Gilyard.
Clowney, a 6-10 forward out of Alabama, turned heads toward the end of his rookie campaign, averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over his final six appearances of the season, including four starts. His standout offensive performance came against the Pacers on April 3, where he poured in a career-high 22 points and went 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
The best showcase of his defensive upside came a few nights later on April 10, where he finished with a game-high seven blocks against the Toronto Raptors.
While Clowney’s roster spot is secured entering next season, these summer league games will be important for him, as he has a chance to prove to Fernandez and his staff that he is prepared to take on more responsibility entering Year 2. This will be his first appearance since the team’s season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 14, a game in which he finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block. Fans are eager to see how much the 19-year-old has improved since and what role he will play in the Nets’ rebuild going forward.
The same could be said about Whitehead, the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft who missed most of his rookie season because of injury. The 19-year-old appeared in just two games for Brooklyn, spending most of his time when healthy with G League affiliate Long Island. He underwent season-ending surgery to address a stress reaction in his left shin in late January.
Whitehead did not play in summer league last year, and like Clowney, he too will be looking to put his best foot forward to secure his place in the Nets’ future plans. There was a time when Whitehead, a consensus five-star recruit who was named MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game in 2022, was viewed as a future lottery pick coming out of Montverde Academy. The talent is still there despite the injuries he has been forced to overcome early in his career. This summer he has a chance to prove he is still worth the investment.
Wilson, a second-year forward out of Kansas, returns to summer league after earning 2K24 All-Summer League Second Team honors a year ago. Last summer he averaged 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists across five games, with his most memorable moment coming in the form of a game-winning tip against the Raptors.
The 23-year-old played his fair share of minutes at the G League level last season, but his hustle and willingness to do the dirty work eventually earned him a permanent spot in the Nets’ rotation in early February. However, the best display of his potential came on Dec. 27 against the Milwaukee Bucks, where he scored a career-high 21 points with 10 rebounds in just under 30 minutes. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds across 43 total appearances last season while shooting 42.5% from the field and 32.4% from deep.
Gilyard, a 5-9 point guard, was added to the Nets’ roster on a two-way deal in early March and played sparingly. However, the 25-year-old was a menace for Long Island despite his size, averaging 24.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 4.7 steals across three playoff games.
Brooklyn will round out the rest of its summer league roster with 6-2 guard Mark Armstrong out of Villanova, 6-5 forward Zylan Cheatham out of Arizona State, 6-6 guard KJ Jones II out of Emmanuel, 6-7 forward Tevian Jones out of Southern Utah, 6-6 forward Tyrese Martin UConn, 6-7 forward Khalid Moore out of Fordham and 6-10 center David Muoka out of UNLV.
Keon Johnson and Jaylen Martin, who both spent time with the Nets on two-way deals last season, will also be featured on the roster. Johnson is the most experienced player on the squad with three years of NBA experience under his belt.
Jones II averaged 26.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season while shooting 48% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. He scored over 3,600 points in his collegiate career, was the only DII prospect to earn an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, earned numerous DII All-American honors and was named NABC DII Player of the Year.
Armstrong, 6-2, played two seasons at Villanova and averaged 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a sophomore while shooting 41.7% from the field and 28.2% from deep.
