Top 10 NBA Summer League Players of All Time

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

NBA Summer League success doesn’t always translate to future glory. But the best summer league players of all time is still an intriguing list.

That NBA Summer League is a very strange occurrence because so many factors are involved. The first is the inevitable overreaction of each and every fan base. I was guilty when Kyle Anderson and Jonathan Simmons lit it for San Antonio in 2015 and I’m sure everyone had their moment.

Then come the fringe NBA journeymen who play against incredibly hyped lottery picks, and sometimes the competition wipes out the journeymen. Finally, the sample size is small, with many players appearing in only four games in a single summer.

For this list, we’re going to look at Summer League’s greatest careers so that players who have played more games over multiple seasons are favored over one-hit wonders. For example, Marcus Banks owns the highest pointing average in a Summer League season at 42 points per game. That being said, he only appeared in one game in 2007, and he was just above average in 2006, so he won’t make this list.

The interesting thing about Summer League stars is that they haven’t all had solid NBA careers. It’s too early to tell, but only half of the players listed have any chance of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and some of those players have had largely unforgettable NBA careers. That’s the exciting thing about the Summer League. Role-players and journeymen play with the best young players in the country, and it is often the lesser talent that gives the business to the stars.

Who are the best NBA Summer League players of all time?

Whole summer careers are considered for this list, and NBA success has nothing to do with who ranks where. Personally, I prefer a well-rounded game over big scoring numbers, so bias is admittedly included, but you can re-rank these players as you see fit.