With LeBron James and Team USA training in Las Vegas, we’re just 2 days away from seeing the team in action against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase.

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition?

California Classic: Key moments and performances from the opening weekend of summer hoops

Preparing For Paris: All-access at USAB training camp and a roundup of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers

Handshakes To Hard Copies: See which free agents have officially inked their new deals

SLC Opens, WNBA History: What’s on tap for the first day of Salt Lake City Summer League and a record weekend in the W

Looking Ahead: The 20th annual summer showcase in Las Vegas is just four days away

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Summer League action continues in Salt Lake City…

The ninth annual Salt Lake City Summer League tips off today with a pair of games at Delta Center.

Team USA training camp continues in Las Vegas as they prepare for their first exhibition against Team Canada on Wednesday in the USA Basketball Showcase (10:30 ET, FS1).

1. OPENING WEEKEND AT THE CALIFORNIA CLASSIC

The sixth-annual California Classic Summer League opened in Sacramento and San Francisco over the weekend, giving draft picks and young talent a chance to show out. Here’s a look back at what went down.

Day 2 Scores

• Hornets 93, China 62: Bryce McGowens led the Hornets with 20 points and three assists in a 93-62 win over China
• Warriors 92, Lakers 68: Ethan Thompson (22 pts, 11 reb) led Golden State while Bronny James sat with a left knee injury
• Heat 102, Kings 2 86: No. 15 pick Kel’el Ware led Miami with a game-high 26 points while Jordan Ford led Sacramento with 22
• Kings 1 85, Spurs 59: Boogie Ellis led the Kings with 17 points in a win over the Spurs, who were without rookie Stephon Castle

Day 2 Recap

• Standout Players from Day 2: No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware dominated for Miami, while G League vet Ethan Thompson continued to shine for Golden State
• Best of California Classic Day 2: A pair of jams by Miami’s Ware, L.A.’s Dalton Knecht showing out on both ends, a poster jam from the Kings’ Isaac Jones and more from Day 2

Day 1 Scores

• Kings 2 108, Lakers 94: Adonis Arms (32 pts, 11 reb) led the Kings while Bronny James scored four points in his Summer League debut
• Warriors 105, Heat 66: Ethan Thompson and Daeqwon Plowden combined for 53 points to lead Golden State past Miami
• Hornets 97, Spurs 65: Mouhamadou Gueye led Charlotte with 21 points while No. 4 pick Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 12
• Kings 1 101, China 50: Mason Jones and Keon Ellis led the way as Sacramento won all four quarters by double digits

Day 1 Recap

• Standout Players from Day 1: Golden State got a tag-team effort against Miami while Adonis Arms lifted Sacramento over Bronny James and Los Angeles
• Best of California Classic Day 1: Bronny’s first bucket, Stephon Castle’s first logo 3, Kel’el Ware’s big block and more top moments from the opening day of summer hoops
• Special Guest In The House: One of the biggest ovations of the night came when DeMar DeRozan entered Golden 1 Center during the Kings vs. China game after reports had surfaced of a sign-and-trade to bring the 6-time All-Star to Sacramento

2. PREPARING FOR PARIS: ALL-ACCESS WITH USAB + FIBA OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS

Join some of the best American hoopers as they work toward an Olympic gold medal.

The USA Basketball Men’s National Team arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday for training camp ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics and our all-access team captured exclusive content of their first two days of practice.

From Steph Curry admiring LeBron James’ jam to Cooper Flagg taking on Anthony Davis, see the best behind-the-scenes clips from this weekend.

• Saturday’s Best Buckets: What happens when all-world scorers meet? This.
• Day 1 Recap: Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis reflect on Day 1
• New Number, Same Steph: Curry rains 3s while rocking the No. 4
• AD Comes Full Circle: Anthony Davis recalls asking for LeBron’s autograph as a kid
• Select Team Scrimmage: USABMNT takes on the Select Team in their first scrimmage of training camp
• King James 🤝 Kai Cenat: LeBron and Content Creator Kai Cenat link up post-practice

Seeking advice from Olympians? Before Sunday’s practice, we asked members of Team USA for their most valuable piece of basketball wisdom.

• 🗣️ Kawhi Leonard: “Have fun.”
• 🗣️ Devin Booker: “Keep shooting.”
• 🗣️ Bam Adebayo: “The work doesn’t get easier, you just get used to it.”
• 🗣️ Tyrese Haliburton: “Be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
• 🗣️ Kevin Durant: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

While the United States prepared for Paris, eight countries battled for the last four berths in Sunday’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament finals, held in Greece, Spain, Latvia and Puerto Rico.

• Greece 80, Croatia 69: After leading Greece past Luka Doncic and Slovenia in Saturday’s semifinal, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points to help the hosts hold off Croatia in Sunday’s final — booking his first trip to the Olympics
• Spain 86, Bahamas 78: Spain earned its seventh straight Olympic berth by edging out Buddy Hield and the Bahamas 86-78 in Valencia, Spain
• Brazil 94, Latvia 69: Brazil used a 19-0 run in the 1st quarter to run away from hosts Latvia in Sunday’s first final
• Puerto Rico 79, Lithuania 68: Puerto Rico is headed to the Olympics for the first time in 20 years, as Jose Alvarado led the hosts to an 11-point win Sunday night to claim the 12th and final spot at the Paris Games
• Qualified Olympic Teams (12/12): Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Puerto Rico, Serbia, South Sudan, Spain, USA

3. FREE-AGENT SIGNINGS: HANDSHAKES TO HARD COPIES

The free agent reports are becoming official.

On Saturday, July 6 — after a near week-long negotiation period — teams were granted permission to officially sign free agents to contracts.

Below are some of the biggest deals that have been solidified on paper.

• LeBron James returns to Lakers on two-year deal
• Paul George signs four-year max contract with 76ers
• Tyrese Maxey inks five-year extension with Philly
• Pascal Siakam re-signs with Pacers on four-year max deal
• Chris Paul signs with San Antonio
• OG Anunoby re-signs with Knicks
• Klay Thompson joins Dallas via sign-and-trade
• Malik Monk re-signs with Kings on four-year deal
• Isaiah Hartenstein signs three-year contract with OKC
• Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield join Warriors in sign-and-trade
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signs with Magic on three-year deal

See every official deal here, and visit NBA.com for the latest offseason and free-agency news.

• Free Agency Hub: Your home for the free agent frenzy
• Offseason By Team: Moves and reports for all 30 clubs
• Trade Tracker: Offseason swaps in one spot

4. ROUNDUP: SLC SUMMER LEAGUE OPENS, WNBA RECORDS FALL

Summer League Shifts To Utah: While the California Classic takes Monday off, the Salt Lake City Summer League — featuring the Jazz, Grizzlies, Thunder and 76ers — gets underway tonight with a doubleheader on ESPN.

• Thunder-76ers (7 ET, ESPN): Sixers’ first-round pick and former Duke standout Jared McCain sees his first NBA action versus Ousmane Dieng and the OKC Thunder
• Grizzlies-Jazz (9 ET, ESPN): Former two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey makes his Grizzlies debut against fellow top-10 pick Cody Williams and the Jazz

WNBA History Being Made: The 2024 season has passed its midpoint, with the Liberty and Sun tied for the top record in the league at 17-4. This week saw a number of records fall, led by a pair of rookie All-Stars.

• Clark’s First Triple-Double: Cailtlin Clark became the first rookie to post a triple-double (19 pts, 13 ast, 12 reb) in WNBA history as Indy beat NY. Clark also became the fastest player to rack up 350+ pts, 150+ ast in their career (22 games) – topping Sue Bird (25)
• Reese’s Double-Double Streak: Angel Reese (17 pts, 14 reb) posted her 13th straight triple-double on Sunday against Seattle. She already owned the longest streak in a single season and now has the longest streak ever (12 by Candace Parker, 2009-2010)
• Coming Up Aces: A’ja Wilson became the all-time leading scorer (4,301) in franchise history (Las Vegas, San Antonio, Utah), passing Sophia Young-Malcolm
• Climbing The Charts: Tina Charles became the WNBA’s third all-time leading scorer (7,396). Already second all-time in rebounds, she’s the only player in the top three in both categories

5. COMING UP: NBA 2K25 SUMMER LEAGUE

All 30 NBA teams convene for the 20th annual summer showcase in Las Vegas later this week.

The NBA 2K25 Summer League tips off Friday, July 12, with seven games and ends with a winner-take-all final on July 22, when a champion will be crowned.

See the essentials of summer’s hottest showcase below.

• Format: All 30 clubs will play at least five games, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs, beginning with the semifinals on Sunday, July 21 (single elimination)
• Seeding: The four playoff teams will be determined by winning percentage in each team’s first four games, with head-to-head matchups and point differential serving as the first two tiebreakers
• Consolation Games: The 26 teams that do not advance to the four-team playoff will play a fifth game on either July 20 or July 21
• Location: All 76 games of the 11-day tournament will take place at either the Thomas & Mack Center or the Cox Pavilion
• How To Watch: Every game will air on ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+ and ESPN3) or NBA TV. Every game will also be available to stream on the ESPN App
• Official Rosters: See who’s suiting up for each team in Vegas here

The reigning Summer League champion Cavaliers open the event on Friday against the Magic at 4 ET (NBA TV), and then the top two picks in the 2024 Draft — Zaccharie Risacher (No. 1, Hawks) and Alex Sarr (No. 2, Wizards) — matchup as Atlanta faces Washington at 9:30 ET on ESPN.

See the other 2024 lottery picks who are scheduled to make their Summer League debut in Vegas below and the full 2K25 Summer League schedule here.

• Reed Sheppard (HOU, 3rd Overall): Rockets vs. Lakers | Friday, July 12 (7:30 ET, ESPN)
• Ron Holland II (DET, 5th Overall): Pistons vs. 76ers | Saturday, July 13 (7 ET, ESPN2)
• Tidjane Salaun (CHA, 6th Overall): Hornets vs. Knicks | Saturday, July 13 (5 ET, ESPN2)
• Donovan Clingan (POR, 7th Overall): Spurs vs. Blazers | Saturday, July 13 (9 ET, ESPN2)
• Rob Dillingham (MIN, 8th Overall): Pelicans vs. Timberwolves | Friday, July 12 (5 ET, ESPN2)
• Matas Buzelis (CHI, 11th Overall): Bucks vs. Bulls | Saturday, July 13 (4:30 ET, NBA TV)
• Bub Carrington (WAS, 14th Overall): Hawks vs. Wizards | Friday, July 12 (9:30 ET, ESPN)