NBA Summer League is ‘extremely valuable' for scouts. Here's what they look for

New York Times

a day ago

The rosters are random. The stats are messy. Half the players won't be on an NBA team come October.
However, for scouts sitting courtside in Las Vegas, these games are as good as gold.
NBA Summer League isn't about box scores — it's a live evaluation ground where scouts search for translatable skills, development potential and hidden value beyond the surface stats.
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Some fans treat summer-league performances as little more than playful sparring, while others see them as definitive statements about a player's future.
However, in reality, how important is it? Do the stats, wins and individual performances matter?
For NBA scouts, the summer league is far from meaningless. It's one of the most critical evaluation periods outside of the regular season. While box scores don't tell the whole story, the games offer real insight into player development, coachability, and potential fit, not just with their current team, but for the 29 others watching courtside.
The Athletic interviewed several scouts, granting them anonymity to allow them to speak freely about their evaluation process.
'It's extremely valuable. Before the draft, no matter what your opinion is about a player or how analytics project him to be, it's always interesting to see how competitive they are once they get to summer league,' said one scout for a Western Conference team. 'How quickly they pick up terminology, are they culture fits and can they keep the main thing the main thing? Can they be attentive, on time and professional, especially with all the distractions in Vegas?'
A poor summer performance doesn't necessarily mean a player won't turn into a quality NBA player. Jalen Brunson (7.1 points per game on 38.3 shooting), Derrick Rose (9.5 points and 4.5 turnovers per game, shooting 29.4 percent) and Nikola Jokić (8.0 points in five games) didn't wow fans or scouts right away.
Summer league stats can be inflated or misleading, but scouts don't completely ignore the numbers. Efficiency, decision-making, rebounding effort, assist-to-turnover ratio, and defensive metrics are all evaluated in context, especially when paired with film and in-person observation.
'All stats matter,' one scout said. 'This is the last professional setting until training camp starts. Everything is relevant.'
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An Eastern Conference scout said specific statistics validate the eye test.
'Plus/minus is considered in context to gauge overall impact,' he said. 'More than the totals, scouts focus on how these stats are generated and whether they align with winning habits. The stats should validate what you're watching and seeing a real time.'
Scouts aren't just watching to see who puts up 20 points. They're studying how players react to coaching, how they communicate on the floor and whether their skill sets translate to defined NBA roles. For rookies, it's often the first time they're judged on more than just potential.
'You want to see how quickly they can adjust to the pro game — not just physically, but mentally,' another evaluator shared. 'It's not just about buckets. It's about focus, learning systems and doing the little things right.'
Summer League also serves as a checkpoint for returning players on two-way deals or fighting for a roster spot.
'Developmental progression in your older players — they've usually attended summer league the year prior, so they aren't overwhelmed by the spectacle,' one scout explained. 'You're looking for leadership, consistency and execution out of those guys.'
The margin between a fringe player and a playoff contributor has never been thinner, especially in the new CBA era, where teams must extract value from two-way contracts and minimum deals. The summer league has become a talent marketplace where every team is scouting not just their bench, but everyone else's.
'The new CBA deal has made it even more crucial to try and find potential fits from a bottom-up perspective,' one scout said. 'Open roster spots and two-ways could end up playing deep in the playoffs. Look at someone like Pat Spencer for the Warriors — people were like, 'Who's that and where did he come from?' And he's playing in the semifinals. Every team is there scouting every other team's roster with the hope of finding that diamond in the rough.'
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One scout emphasized the importance of keeping an open mind at summer league, while another noted the need to 'watch the game within the game.'
'(There is) no blank canvas because you've already seen 90 percent of these guys in college,' he said. 'You come in with your biases good or bad, but the key is to be open-minded to how they can help you.'
Scouts work year-round, so it's challenging to find a hidden gem. If they find such a player, they may need to sweeten the deal to sign him before another team secures his services. Only around two or three players from every summer league team will make an NBA roster. The remaining guys sign two-way or Exhibit 10 (one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contracts) deals, play overseas or remain free agents.
'It's hard to spot someone that no one else sees, because every team has scouts at every game for that reason,' a scout explained. 'If a team gets credit for discovering a player, usually that means they offered a better deal (e.g., two-way with incentives) than the other six or seven teams that were interested in that player.
'This is like being in a petri dish. Every scouting department sees every player. The best you can do is find players who are two-way worthy.'
(Photo of Dylan Harper and Cooper Flagg: Ryan Stetz / Getty Images)