With the Golden State Warriors beating the Boston Celtics in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Finals on June 16th, the NBA Offseason is officially underway for all 30 teams. As it stands, the 2022 NBA Draft is set to commence on June 23rd, while Free Agency will open in about one month on August 2nd. In addition to the Draft and Free Agency, the NBA’s annual Summer League will also be going on throughout the summer.
The NBA announced the game and broadcast schedules for the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, which will take place from July 7th to July 17th at the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. All 75 games of the 11-day competition will air live on television on ESPN networks or NBA TV. These Summer League Games will also be available to stream on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.
In announcing the entire 75-game schedule for the NBA Summer League, the Orlando Magic will play against the Houston Rockets in the opening game on July 7th at 10 P.M. ET. Both Orlando and Houston were very lucky at the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, as Orlando won the No. 1 pick while Houston claimed the No. 3 pick alongside the No. 17 (Via Brooklyn ) and No. 26 (Via Dallas) picks.
our summer league schedule just dropped 👀 pic.twitter.com/pOdvfGK3GJ
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) June 20, 2022
In addition to playing Houston, Orlando will also play Sacramento (No. 4 pick), Oklahoma City (No. 2 and No. 12 picks), and New York (No. 11 pick) to finish off their four-game regular season. Depending on their record after those four games, all 30 teams will be seeded by the NBA and play in their fifth and final game, with the top two seeds playing for the 2022 NBA Summer League Championship on July 17th. Shockingly, Sacramento will look to win their second straight summer league championship this year after destroying Boston 100-67 in the 2021 Summer League championship.
There’s no doubt that Orlando will look to have a better five-game slate of summer league games, as they went just 2-3 in last season’s summer league. While the Magic were disappointing, their young participants in the summer league showed plenty of promise and grit, highlighted by the play of 2021 first-round picks Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner.
Before suffering a sprained thumb in Orlando’s fourth game, Suggs was playing quite well for the Magic, averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.7 SPG in three summer league games. Once Suggs was shut down for the final two summer league games, Wagner quickly stepped in as a reliable wing player, averaging 6.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.0 APG while shooting 40.0% from the field, and even helped lead the Magic to an 89-76 win over the Rockets in their fourth game. Finally, former 2020 first-round pick R.J. Hampton played well as the Magic’s primary ball-handler, as he averaged 21.9 MPG, 7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG while shooting 31.8% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.
With Suggs, Wagner, and Hampton all entering their second and third seasons in the NBA, they are expected to participate for the Magic this summer, but won’t be the only notable players suiting up for Orlando. From Auburn’s Jabari Smith to Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren to Duke’s Paola Banchero, Orlando is guaranteed to have one of these three draft prospects, depending on who they select with the No. 1 overall pick. As of June 20th, the Magic have not revealed their 2022 NBA Summer League Roster, but are expected to do so within the coming weeks.