By: Jay Yeomans

Published: July 13, 2026

The 24-hour sports news cycle creates a lot of opportunities to talk about what-ifs when it comes to everything in the NBA. The same can be said for summer league. It started out when Darryn Peterson exploded for 28 points on the first day of the Utah summer league. That’s when the chatter got really loud about how Peterson should have been the No. 1 pick in the draft and the Wizards had made a mistake taking AJ Dybantsa. That talk only intensified two days later when Peterson delivered a monster double-double of 25 points and 12 assists.

Huge games, no doubt, but both happened before AJ or Caleb Wilson even played a summer league game. But it does create some fun banter. With that in mind, I decided to redraft the lottery based solely on how each of the NBA draft picks have performed so far in limited action.

Note: I understand that summer league has no bearing on what these players will do in their careers, but I thought this would be a fun exercise based on all the talking heads asking if teams would want a do-over.

Honorable mentions: Koa Peat, Hannes Steinbach, Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, Allen Graves, Tarris Reed Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., Ebuka Okorie, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Kingston Flemings, and Cameron Carr.

14. Bryce Hopkins

The 49th pick by the Denver Nuggets, Hopkins has been one of the offensive leaders, scoring 20 points a night on a blistering 57 percent shooting from the field.

13. Ryan Conwell

Conwell has been getting a ton of time for the Heat in the summer and has already proven that he can be a volume scorer.

12. Keaton Wagler

The No. 5 overall pick in the draft had a rough first night but bounced back nicely in his second appearance, where he put up 23 points, five assists, two steals and a pair of blocks as the Clippers rolled the Utah Jazz 104-82.

11. Darius Acuff

Acuff is an offensive-minded lead guard who can really put up the points, and missing shots won’t stop him from letting it fly. Hopefully his college stroke will return soon, or it’s gonna take him a boatload of shots to get his 20 a night.

10. Labaron Philon

The 76ers have given Philon minutes, and he has produced. He has also shot the three-ball very well while limiting his turnovers through two games.

9. Bruce Thornton

The first pick of the second has sure looked like he should have heard his name called on the first night. He can score the ball at a high clip, whether by getting to the foul line or connecting from beyond the arc. He has also been masterful on the other end, collecting 8 steals in his first two games.

8. Brayden Burries

The Arizona product started off slow but caught fire in the last two games for the Bucks. He was especially impressive against the Spurs, where he drilled 4 of 5 shots from distance on his way to 26 points.

7. Meleek Thomas

Thomas looks like a steal for the Cavaliers. He is averaging 25 points a night while shooting better than 40 percent from distance and connecting on all of his free throws. But Thomas has been far from one-dimensional in his early games, totaling nine boards, handing out 10 dimes, and registering five steals.

6. Morez Johnson

Johnson stuffed the stat sheet during a matchup with former teammate Yaxel Lendeborg during his first game with the Mavericks. He recorded 27 points, pulled down seven boards, handed out three assists, and swatted away a pair of shots. He followed that up with another double-figure scoring game while blocking four more shots. Now he just needs to figure out how to stop fouling so much, and he should be ready to play important minutes next to Cooper Flagg.

5. Yaxel Lendeborg

Lendeborg already looks like a seasoned pro. He is an excellent floor spacer who hits the offensive glass and always looks for the right shot. With how he has played thus far, he looks like a great fit next to Steph Curry in the Warriors lineup.

4. Cameron Boozer

Boozer hasn’t put up huge numbers like many of the other top picks, but has shown all the tools that made him a top player at Duke and the No. 3 pick to the Grizzlies. The most impressive part of his game has been his outside shooting, where he has connected on 6 of 9 from deep. Right up there is his vision as a point forward, already totaling 12 assists through three games.

3. Darryn Peterson

Peterson is going to be a star. He has a great feel for the game, loves taking the tough shot, and is ready to make plays no matter how much time is left on the shot clock. He has a silky smooth jumper and has even shown great instincts as a lead guard. Any other year, he would have been the No. 1 pick, but in this loaded class, he will have to limit his turnovers and stay out of foul trouble to move up this list.

2. A.J. Dybantsa

I swear I saw a tent at the foul line during the Wizards’ first two games of summer league. Well, maybe not, but Dybantsa has been living at the line even if he doesn’t have a sleeping bag set up. That comes as no surprise to those who watched him at BYU, but his percent (85.7) might raise some eyebrows. On top of that, A.J. has shown great defensive instincts and has done a really nice job handling the ball in Las Vegas.

1. Caleb Wilson

I know it’s just one game, but man, was it special. In a matchup with an ACC foe and the guy who was taken one spot ahead of him in the draft, Cameron Boozer, Wilson went nuts and showed what kind of ceiling he has as a player if he can expand his range. Scoring 35 points was very impressive, but hitting seven threes was what blew me away. Now, if he can find a similar stroke from the foul line, then Bulls’ fans will be glad that Wilson slipped to them at No. 4.