NBA Summer League is upon us.
Starting this weekend, the Chicago Bulls will send a group of players to Las Vegas to compete in the NBA’s annual Summer League.
Here’s everything you need to know about the event.
What is NBA Summer League?
Taking place between July 12-22, all 30 NBA teams send a group of young players to Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Most Summer League rosters are comprised of rookies and second-year players with the occasional third-year player sprinkled in. Many undrafted free agents make up the back end of Summer League rosters as they attempt to secure a training camp invite or two-way deal.
Each team plays at least five games. After the first four games, the top four teams advance to a playoff bracket. The semi-finals take place on Sunday, July 21 and the final is on Monday, July 22.
Chicago Bulls Summer League Schedule
- Bulls vs. Bucks: Saturday July 13 at 3:30 PM Central Time on NBA TV
- Bulls vs. Warriors: Sunday July 14 at 9:00 PM Central Time on ESPN2
- Bulls vs. Pistons: Tuesday July 16 at 5:30 PM Central Time on NBA TV
- Bulls vs. Hawks: Friday July 19 at 5:00 PM Central Time on NBA TV
If the Bulls finish these games with one of the four best records in the league, they’ll advance to the Playoffs. If not, they’ll have a consolation game scheduled for either Saturday July 20 or Sunday July 21.
Chicago Bulls Summer League Roster
Matas Buzelis, the 11th overall pick in the draft, headlines the Summer Bulls roster. Buzelis played last season with the NBA G League Ignite, and should be able to leverage his experience at the NBA level to his advantage. I expect some big numbers from him, as well as some high-flying dunks.
Julian Phillips, the Bulls second-round pick in 2023, returns for his second Summer League. A three-and-D role player with the Bulls, it will be interesting to see if he can do a little bit more with the ball in his hands as a featured player on the Summer Bulls roster.
Adama Sanogo, Andrew Funk and Henri Drell were the Bulls two-way players last season. Sanogo, 22, had a 22-point, 20-rebound game in April and dominated the competition at the G League level last year after winning a National Championship with UConn in 2023.
Drell, 24, is a tall shooter from Estonia, who played the last three seasons with the Windy City Bulls.
Funk, 24, joined the Windy City Bulls on a late-season two-way contract after being waived by the Grand Rapids Gold, the Denver Nuggets G League affiliate.
Other notable names are Marcus Domask, a 24-year-old guard from University of Illinois. Dereon Seabron, who went undrafted in 2022, spent the last few seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans G League affiliate. Javonte Smart (LSU), DJ Steward (Duke) and Chase Audige (Northwestern), round out the roster.
The team is coached by Billy Donovan III, son of Bulls head Coach Billy Donovan. Donovan III was named head coach of the Windy City Bulls this summer.
CHGO’s plans at Summer League
CHGO will be on site in Las Vegas, hosted by Circa Resort. We will be doing live shows from the Sportsbook and Pool Deck at Circa at 1 pm central time on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
We’ll also be attending the first two Summer League games to provide coverage and behind-the-scenes access. This will include social media and written content, live reactions to games in our Diehard members Discord channel and vlogs of our trip.
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