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The best of the NBA Summer League

Everything you missed from the games that hold us over in between the NBA Finals and the Olympics

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    Minnesota Timberwolves v Chicago Bulls – Championship Game
    LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 18: Jerian Grant #2 of the Chicago Bulls celebrates with his brother Jerami Grant of the Philadelphia 76ers after being awarded the Championship Game MVP after winning the Summer League Championship against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2016 NBA Las Vegas Summer League on July 18, 2016 at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Kofie Yeboah

    Thank you, Based God, for NBA Summer League games. Snicker all you want, but we appreciate the summer league. Sixty-seven games (!) over 10 days in Orlando, Florida; Utah; and Las Vegas featuring 24 teams? With a void in the sports calendar between the end of the NBA season and the start of this year’s Olympics, we’ll take it.

    The stretch of games this summer also gave fans a look at players who had been drafted just nine days earlier, as was the case in Orlando. Some were monsters (like Kris Dunn) while others disappointed (like Dragan Bender), but either way, it was interesting to see elite-level talent go at each other. Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons faced off, and Denzel Valentine even nailed a game-winner to end the very last game. Missed any of it? Chill. We got you.

    Here’s a look at the best of what we witnessed from this year’s summer league.

    BUZZER-BEATERS

    Down by two with 1.8 seconds left, Tyler Ulis hit a game-winning 3-pointer from Stephen Curry-distance in overtime to bury the Denver Nuggets.

    The other great thing about summer league action? It allows for reckless speculation to whip around like wildfire:

    https://twitter.com/Myles_Fargo3/status/751980138322100225

    Last night, Chicago Bulls rookie Denzel Valentine hit a deep, off-balance 3-pointer to send the game to overtime before hitting a turnaround game-winner at the buzzer in said overtime. That’s how you end a tournament.

    https://twitter.com/mikeyb__33/status/755238549264400384

    https://twitter.com/KingTralle/status/751909891481088000

    NASTY DUNKS

    The vicious slams this summer? They were plentiful. And delightful.

    https://vine.co/v/57xMlErdJu2

    IMPRESSIVE ROOKIES

    So many to choose from here. This year’s NBA draft class appears loaded with talent:

    https://twitter.com/JFNB1/status/752150317370863616

    POKEMON

    This is Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert playing Pokemon Go during a summer league game. Out of control.

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Kofie Yeboah asks for Sweet Tea at every restaurant and recites approximately 2.5 Spongebob lines per hour.