NBA’s top four picks look every bit the part at Summer League

Summer League wraps up Sunday, and while it’s never wise to overreact to a handful of exhibition games, it’s also OK to admit when an NBA rookie simply looks like he belongs.

That was essentially the takeaway from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie after spending the past couple of weeks evaluating the 2026 draft class in Las Vegas.

Vecenie cautioned against putting too much stock into Summer League stat lines, noting that plenty of future stars have looked ordinary in Las Vegas, while some Summer League scoring champs have gone on to have forgettable NBA careers. In other words, context matters.

Still, he came away impressed by what he saw from the top of this year’s draft.

No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa looked every bit like the dynamic scorer scouts expected, even if his outside shot still needs some polishing. Utah’s Darryn Peterson flashed the shot-making ability that has Jazz fans dreaming big. Memphis forward Cameron Boozer may have been the most NBA-ready player of the bunch. And Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson turned plenty of heads with dramatic improvement as a perimeter shooter.

If there was another rookie who really caught Vecenie’s attention, it was Milwaukee’s Brayden Burries.

Vecenie called Burries “one of the best players” he watched in Las Vegas, praising the rookie’s poise, polished offensive game and ability to impact winning on both ends of the floor. He even suggested Burries could wind up on the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.

Now comes the hard part. Summer League is fun. The regular season is where reputations are made.

But if Vecenie’s early impressions prove accurate, this rookie class could wind up being every bit as good as advertised.