photo by: AP Photo/John Locher

Utah Jazz's Darryn Peterson plays against the LA Clippers during the second half of an NBA Summer League basketball game Sunday, July 12, 2026, in Las Vegas.

With the conclusion of Sunday night’s championship game between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, the 2026 edition of the NBA Summer League came to a close.

The 11-day whirlwind of exhibition action — preceded by offshoot competitions in California and Utah — provided opportunities for a handful of young former Kansas basketball players to test their mettle in the early stages of their professional careers.

No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson, fresh off a one-year stint with the Jayhawks, was the headliner, and particularly in the early going, he demonstrated why the Utah Jazz are prepared to build around him for the foreseeable future. But other players on the fringes like Hunter Dickinson and Tre White had their moments as well, as they look to secure their places in the NBA.

Here’s more on how everyone fared.

KJ Adams: The former KU forward made his return to competitive basketball after spending a year as an assistant video coordinator on Bill Self’s staff while rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered in his final collegiate game. With Golden State splitting its squad in two for the California Classic, Adams got on the floor in brief stints early on for the Gold team and had seven points and two rebounds in a loss to the Miami Heat in San Francisco on July 6. But when the two groups reunified in Las Vegas, Adams didn’t play again, even as the Warriors went on a lengthy run and claimed the Summer League title on Sunday night.

Melvin Council Jr.: Council made quite an impression on KU fans with his late-game heroics and hustle in his one year in Lawrence. His MVP showing at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in the spring boosted his stock somewhat, but he still went undrafted. The New Orleans Pelicans gave him a Summer League shot. He didn’t appear in their opener, but came off the bench with six points in 20 minutes on July 11 and nine points in 25 minutes the next day; on both occasions he led the team in plus-minus. Council entered the starting lineup on Wednesday against Cleveland, forming a backcourt with former NCAA Tournament adversary Dominique Daniels Jr., and tallied a modest nine points and five assists in an 82-77 loss. He didn’t appear in the consolation-game loss to Indiana on Saturday that ended New Orleans’ run.

Hunter Dickinson: A second-year Pelican on a two-way contract who made a few NBA appearances as a rookie, Dickinson teamed up with Council in Las Vegas. The 7-footer contributed 12 points and six boards in the July 9 opener, a loss to Minnesota. His top performance in Las Vegas, however, came two days later, when he led the Pelicans with 21 points as they rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Charlotte Hornets. Council assisted Dickinson on a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining that put New Orleans in front. The Suns limited the big man to seven points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes on July 12, and then he didn’t play on Wednesday or Saturday. Dickinson seems poised to spend plenty of time with the Laketown Squadron of the NBA G League after a standout season at that level last year.

Dajuan Harris Jr.: Dickinson’s former teammate Harris was also in the G League for much of last year, most notably with the Iowa Wolves. He got a chance with their parent club, the Minnesota Timberwolves, for the Summer League, but didn’t receive much playing time at all. Harris didn’t play on July 9 or 11; he then garnered two minutes in a loss to Portland on July 13, one minute in a win over Indiana on Wednesday and three minutes with an assist and a turnover in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. That was it for his second year in Las Vegas.

Zeke Mayo: Mayo joined the Atlanta Hawks for the Summer League this season after spending it with Washington in 2025, then playing for the Cleveland Charge of the G League all year. His summer started early with the Hawks taking part in the Salt Lake City Summer League, where he sat out the opener against Peterson’s host Utah Jazz on July 4 and a second game against Oklahoma City on July 6 before scoring 11 points with three 3s in just 14 minutes in a win over Memphis on July 7. Following the trip down to Vegas, Mayo didn’t play one game but supplied another 11 with three steals in the next before taking a step back — three points on 1-for-7 shooting in 20 minutes — in a win over the Boston Celtics on July 13. He added 10 more points in a blowout loss on Thursday and five in Saturday’s finale.

Darryn Peterson: All eyes were on the No. 2 pick as he debuted in Salt Lake City on July 4, and he delivered early with a game-high 28 points in an overtime victory over Mayo’s Hawks. That performance was marred somewhat by eight turnovers to just two assists, but he came back two days later with a 25-point, 12-assist double-double in another win over Memphis. Peterson sat out the last game in Utah, then regrouped for a showdown with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and the Washington Wizards in Las Vegas that went Dybantsa’s way. The forward from BYU scored 27 with seven rebounds; Peterson had 24, but they came on 6-for-18 shooting with eight turnovers and a whopping nine fouls. Peterson recorded the same shooting percentage in a 23-point showing on July 12, sat out a game and returned with 15 on 4-for-16 shooting on Wednesday before sitting for the Jazz’s consolation game against Portland.

Tre White: White had probably the most successful Summer League of any Jayhawk on the fringe. The former USC, Louisville and Illinois wing played the best basketball of his career at KU, and he continued to display his 3-point and rebounding skills with the Miami Heat in San Francisco and Las Vegas. White didn’t play on July 3 but contributed 11 points and six rebounds in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers two days later, then moved to the starting lineup with 16 points and four boards in just 23 minutes on July 6. He did one better with a double-double off the bench on July 10 in Las Vegas before coming back the following day with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. White got a one-game break but finished off the Summer League with his two best offensive showings of all: 19 points against Toronto on Thursday and a team-best 21 with four 3s in a consolation finale against Detroit on Friday. The Heat’s Summer League coach Wayne Ellington has spoken highly of White, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll have a chance to vie for Miami’s final two-way contract spot.