Wolverine Digest

Nine Former Michigan Basketball Players Competing In The 2023 NBA Summer League

With the Las Vegas Summer League kicking off on Friday, there are multiple Michigan basketball players to keep an eye on.

Trent Knoop

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The 2023 NBA Summer League held in Las Vegas kicks off on Friday. It runs from July 7 - July 17, and while all eyes will be on the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama, Michigan fans will be pleasantly surprised with the Wolverine contingent participating.

There are nine former Michigan stars playing in the Summer League. Here are the nine players and a little information about them.

Caleb Houstan, Jett Howard, and DJ Wilson -- Orlando Magic

The Orlando 'Wolverines' will have three players hooping in July, while Mo Wagner and Franz Wagner watch from home -- both are also on the Magic. 

Jett Howard will see his first professional action when Orlando plays on Saturday. Howard was the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and he hopes to put on an impressive performance in order to gain valuable minutes when the season begins.

Howard will be competing for minutes along with last year's first-round pick, Caleb Houstan. Houstan played in 51 games during his rookie season and averaged 15.9 minutes, 3.8 points, and shot 33.8% from 3.

DJ Wilson, on the other hand, is fighting for more than minutes. Wilson is a journeyman at this point in his career and he hopes to pave his way back into the league. A first-round pick back in 2017, Wilson never was able to gain much traction and get a ton of playing time. He last played for the Raptors back in 2021-22 in four games of action.

Zavier Simpson and Isaiah Livers -- Detroit Pistons

The Pistons recently picked up the third-year option on Livers and he could play a valuable role on the team this upcoming year. Livers has shown the ability to become a lock-down defender, now he needs to show he can shoot consistently. He played in 52 games last year and averaged 23.1 minutes, 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and shot 36.5% from 3.

Zavier 'Captain Hook' Simpson linked up with the Pistons this summer and reunites with Livers. Simpson had a great season in the G-League a year ago and averaged 16 points and eight assists per game. Simpson has played in four NBA games in his career. All four came in 2021-22 with the OKC Thunder where he averaged 11 points and 7.5 assists. 

Eli Brooks -- Indiana Pacers

Brooks played with the Pacers last season in the NBA Summer League, but he was unable to make an NBA squad. Instead, he played with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the G-League. Brook averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. The former Michigan sharpshooter averaged 41.9% from the floor and 38.1% from 3.

Chaundee Brown -- San Antonio Spurs

Brown has the opportunity to play alongside the No. 1 pick, Wembanyama. 

He played with the Austin Spurs G-League squad last season. In 20 games, Brown averaged 30 minutes, 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and shot 44.5% from the field, and 28.6% from 3. 

The one-year Michigan player has played in five career NBA games. Two with the Lakers and three with the Atlanta Hawks. 

Kobe Bufkin -- Atlanta Hawks

Kobe Bufkin was the No. 15 draft pick in the 2023 NBA draft. All eyes will be on the two-year Wolverine who should be the star of the show. 

The Hawks are hoping to see Bufkin continue to improve from 3, and get to the basket. 

Moussa Diabate -- Los Angeles Clippers

Diabate was a second-round pick last year by the Clippers and he will be playing in his second Summer League with the team. The one-year Michigan player was on a two-way contract with LA and he was able to play in both the NBA and G-League. 

During NBA action, Diabate saw 22 games and averaged 8.9 minutes, 2.7 points, and 2.3 rebounds.

He played much better in G-League action 16.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and shot 55.6% from the field in 32.7 minutes per game. 

Thanks to Michigan basketball for posting the schedule, you can check it out below to see when your favorite Wolverine will be playing.

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

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