How do 2025 Summer League playoffs work? Explaining the 4-team tournament format
Every team plays four games to determine the standings. The Thunder finished with a perfect 4-0 record with mostly lopsided victories, just like what the NBA champion experienced this past season. Nikola Topic and Ajay Mitchell were the top players of this year's roster.
As the Thunder have a real shot to make the Summer League playoffs, let's break down what needs to happen ot see if they can become the first franchise to win the NBA championship and then the Summer League championship a month later:
Summer League playoff format
The top four teams advance to a knockout tournament. That means the semifinals and finals are single elimination. The other 26 teams will play a fifth game. Because only four games are played, that leaves a lot of room for tiebreakers to be needed.
The first is point differential. Important to note that it is decided by the average margin of victory, not by the total number of points. There are eight teams in contention to clinch one of the four spots.
The Thunder, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves are all 4-0. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, LA Clippers and Charlotte Hornets are 3-0. The latter five will play one last game before the playoff picture is set.
Important games
Only one day remains in the current Summer League schedule. Here are the games the Thunder must keep an eye on if they want to clinch a playoff spot:
Hawks vs. Grizzlies, 5 p.m. CT (NBA TV)
Spurs vs. Hornets, 6 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Warriors vs. Raptors, 9 p.m. CT (NBA TV)
Nuggets vs. Clippers, 10 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Tiebreakers
Because three teams have already played their four games and won them, their tiebreaker is set up. They now await the results of the above games to figure out if it's large enough to clinch a playoff spot, if needed. Here are their point differentials:
Thunder (4-0) — plus-14.8
Kings (4-0) — plus-11.5
Timberwolves (4-0) — plus-9.0
When will the Summer League playoffs start?
The Summer League playoffs will take place from July 19-20. The semifinals will be played on July 19 and the championship game will be played on July 20. That means two teams will play an additional sixth game to their Summer League slate to determine the champion.
What do the Summer League champions win?
The Summer League champions will be rewarded with rings. It's a recent tradition that started in 2022. It's a cool prize to win, especially if you're a bubble NBA player who likely won't have a long career in the league and could bounce around overseas or in the G League.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How do 2025 Summer League playoffs work?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a few seconds ago
- USA Today
Former Nebraska basketball player Keisei Tominaga drops 12 points in the NBA Summer League
A former Husker put together his first double-digit outing in his final game of the NBA Summer League. Keisei Tominaga delivered 12 points for the Indiana Pacers in his first start of the Summer League. Tominaga played for just 19 minutes in the Pacers' 113-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans but made substantial efforts to close out the tournament with a solid performance. He shot 4-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Tominaga had previously played in only two games for Indiana in the Summer League, accumulating three points in 15 total minutes of play. Indiana concludes the Summer League with a 3-2 record, missing out on the Summer League playoffs. Tominaga was picked up by the Pacers in 2024 after playing three seasons at Nebraska. He then appeared in 14 games with the Indiana Mad Ants, the Pacers' G League affiliate, before being called up to play in the Summer League. In his three seasons with the Huskers, Tominaga scored 1,074 points and finished seventh in school history for career 3-pointers, with 178 made. In his final season with the Huskers, he averaged 15.1 points per game, helping the team to a 23-11 record and a third-place Big Ten finish. Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
Fox News
a minute ago
- Fox News
Early World Series Predictions
Fox Sports analysts David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez give their early predictions for this year's Fall classic. #MLB #WorldSeries #Baseball Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Can college softball's hot streak extend all summer? The Northwoods League is finding out
MADISON, Wis. – With every step around the bases, Ava Carroll's body language told a story of joy and confidence. The Northwoods League's top two softball teams, the Madison Night Mares and the Minot Honeybees, had been deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Carroll, a Madison outfielder who also plays for the University of Washington, smashed a pitch over the right-field fence for a game-winning solo home run. The palpable buzz that had filled Warner Park throughout the showdown of teams located nearly 800 miles apart turned into an explosive celebration in the grandstands. Advertisement Carroll smiled midway through her trot and threw her left arm toward the sky as she approached home plate to be mobbed by her Madison teammates. Fifteen minutes later, she met another happy mob, this one of dozens of young girls seeking her autograph outside the locker room. 'This is one of the best summers I'll ever have,' said Carroll, who hit .321 for the Huskies this spring. 'The friendships made, the travel and just being together is just so much fun.' A similar scene unfolds in dozens, if not hundreds, of baseball parks every summer. College baseball players participate everywhere from the Cape Cod League to the California Collegiate League to hone their skills and further develop. Max Scherzer, Curtis Granderson and Brandon Crawford are among the 400 Northwoods League alumni to reach Major League Baseball. But softball had nothing like it until last year. A side conversation between Northwoods League co-founder Dick Radatz and La Crosse Loggers baseball owner Dan Kapanke turned into an exploratory opportunity. Radatz wondered why nobody had created a summer college softball league. 'It didn't take long to see there's no facilities,' Radatz said. 'Every small town in America had a baseball facility that you could do this in.' Facilities no longer are the roadblock they once were, however. Many baseball stadiums now feature turf infields that can be quickly converted for softball. Radatz pitched the idea of a softball league to Northwoods League owners, and four hopped onboard for the inaugural 2024 season. This year, there are five franchises, and the league will grow to at least six in 2026, with two in North Dakota, one in Minnesota and three in Wisconsin. With the Northwoods League infrastructure, the softball branch has a firm foundation, and league commissioner Kathryn Reynolds has helped it thrive in Year 2. The daughter of longtime Cincinnati Reds executive Terry Reynolds, who is a member of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame, Reynolds grew up as a multi-sport athlete but was focused more on basketball. In recent years, she served as Iowa women's basketball's director of operations and saw the rise of women's sports firsthand as Caitlin Clark became a national phenomenon. Advertisement Reynolds left Iowa for the Northwoods League in 2024 and built connections throughout the softball world. She helped bring in coaches ranging from veterans to those just starting in the business. Madison's coach, Lexi Godwin, was a standout player at North Carolina who wrapped her playing career in 2024 and currently works as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. Minot coach Craig Montvidas has coached softball for 40 years and leads the Italian national softball team. The coaches then recruit the players. In the first season, the league totaled 20 Division I athletes. This year, that number has swelled past 60 and includes players from Oklahoma to Syracuse and Arizona to Mississippi State. Players from other Division I and lower-level programs also showcase their skills alongside the power-conference athletes, and some thrive; former junior-college player Tia Durst parlayed her Northwoods League experience last summer into a scholarship at Washington. 'I already see a difference with last year, a little higher quality of players,' Montvidas said. 'I think once it really catches on fire, it's just going to spread completely.' Carroll heard about the league from a teammate who competed in the Northwoods League last year. Madison pitcher Paytn Monticelli, a Cedarburg, Wis., native, returned to her home state to compete this summer after pitching in 16 games and compiling a 2-0 record for Oklahoma last season. 'This past season, I didn't throw a whole lot in games, which is completely OK, but I just wanted to come out here and throw my heart out and love the game while doing it,' Monticelli said. I'm just so grateful for it, because honestly, this is the most I've loved it, probably since my senior year of high school.' As a for-profit league, the business aspect matters, and Reynolds believes the league is catching on at the perfect time. This spring, the Women's College World Series drew higher television ratings than its baseball counterpart on average (1.3 million viewers per game vs. 1.2 million), and the Texas-Texas Tech championship game set a softball record with 2.4 million viewers. Advertisement Add in softball's return to the Olympics in 2028 and a new professional league in Athletes Unlimited, and the sport is gaining traction. To capture casual fans as well as those watching for individual players, every game is live streamed for free on its Northwoods League+ service, and several also appear on ESPN+. 'All those things are kind of like the perfect storm,' Reynolds said. 'It's a cool thing to be, in our own way, impacting and kind of helping develop and change.' 'This league has been a great opportunity to grow the game,' Monticelli said. 'Any opportunity women athletes get to compete at a stage like this, where you get to be on broadcast TV, on ESPN, all of the aspects that give this sport attention. It's such a huge deal for the game.' More than 1,000 fans showed up for the Madison-Minot showdown, and it took nearly 30 minutes for Madison players to finish with a postgame autograph line despite 90-degree temperatures. Non-game attractions included a miniature horse named 'Midnight' and a home run competition involving Northwoods League baseball and softball players to cap the evening. Young people like 7-year-old Clara Ramsey wore Night Mares jerseys, while fans like her grandfather Bill Housley, a retired police captain, were just as supportive. Housley has held Wisconsin football season tickets for 53 years and regularly attends the Badgers' women's hockey and volleyball matches. When Madison landed a summer softball league team, his daughter asked him if he would consider signing up as a host family. Housley had a spare part of his house available, and two players live there during the summer. 'Being able to do this is just a blessing. It really is,' Housley said. 'It's an honor to do it. I like my granddaughters to see women playing sports.' The newest softball franchise debuts next summer in Grand Forks, N.D., the first location without a standing Northwoods League baseball team in place. Although the travel can be long, players enthusiastically endorse the league. They're forming the same community bonds as their baseball counterparts have for generations, and in some ways, softball already has caught up. Advertisement 'I hate to say this because my dad pitched in the big leagues,' Radatz said. 'I grew up with baseball. This is a better product than baseball right now. It's dinner and a movie. It's two hours and out of Dodge.' 'I'm from Oregon, so it was a big jump not seeing my family for two months,' Carroll said. 'But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I want to come back next year, and I'm really excited for what this league has to offer.' (Photos: Scott Dochterman for The Athletic)
