The NBA’s annual preseason Summer League invariably provides an opportunity to see a variety of young former Jayhawks in action, but this season few are actually debuting in the league’s flagship competition in Las Vegas.
That’s because several players coming out of Kansas have already made strong impressions in the preliminary Salt Lake City and California summer competitions in recent days — none stronger than that of Darryn Peterson.
The one-and-done No. 2 overall pick has already done plenty to demonstrate why the Utah Jazz felt confident taking him off the board so early despite his unusual year at KU. In his exhibition debut against Atlanta on Saturday, Peterson came out firing at the Huntsman Center with a 28-point showing on 11-for-21 shooting in which the main flaw was his eight turnovers with just two assists — and then followed it up with a 25-point, 12-assist double-double (with a mere two turnovers) in another win against Memphis on Monday night.
The Deseret News then reported that the Jazz decided to rest him for Tuesday’s Salt Lake City finale against Oklahoma City in advance of a game later this week that will receive about as much attention as any Summer League bout in recent memory: Utah will take on the Washington Wizards and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. Central time on Thursday night.
Several more former Jayhawks have experienced early preseason action. Tre White, who had something of a breakout year at KU after stints at USC, Louisville and Illinois, caught on with the Miami Heat as an undrafted free agent. He didn’t play in Miami’s opener in San Francisco on Friday, but supplied 11 points and six rebounds off the bench in a double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, then moved into the starting lineup to add 16 points and four boards in a victory over the Golden State Warriors’ Gold team (they have been playing with a split squad) at the Chase Center on Monday. The Heat’s Las Vegas debut will be 3 p.m. on Friday against Milwaukee.
KJ Adams is a member of that Gold squad. He missed more than a year of competitive basketball due to a torn Achilles suffered in his final game as a Jayhawk, an NCAA Tournament loss to Arkansas in March 2025. So far, he has appeared sparingly in three games with the Warriors, receiving his most extended action against White and the Heat. He was efficient, with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, and added a pair of rebounds. At one point, he scored in a familiar fashion, finishing a lob from former VCU standout and Boston Celtics draftee Max Shulga. The Warriors will face Dallas in Las Vegas on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Zeke Mayo is in his second Summer League after cameoing in last year’s Las Vegas competition with Washington; he then played his first professional season in the NBA G League with the Cleveland Charge. Now he has caught on with the Atlanta Hawks, although he didn’t play in either of their first two games in Salt Lake City. The Hawks will take on reigning San Antonio at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Three more former Jayhawks will take the floor for the first time in the Las Vegas competition, two of whom are on the same team. Melvin Council Jr. and Hunter Dickinson are both with the New Orleans Pelicans this summer. Dickinson was on a two-way deal with the Pelicans in his rookie season, a capacity in which he appeared in five NBA games, four in the month of April, while primarily playing for the Birmingham (now Laketown) Squadron of the NBA G League. Council is an undrafted rookie free agent who spent one memorable year with the Jayhawks after playing at Monroe College, Wagner and St. Bonaventure.
The Pelicans’ Summer League stint begins with the very first game in Las Vegas, set for 2:30 p.m. against Minnesota at the Pavilion.
Council’s predecessor as KU point guard, Dajuan Harris Jr., will be playing for that Minnesota team. Harris had caught on last summer with the Charlotte Hornets, briefly went to Belgium, then spent much of the year in the G League with the Iowa Wolves, whose parent club he will now join for the summer.
The Las Vegas Summer League runs through July 19.
New Orleans Pelicans center Hunter Dickinson (4) dunks against the Orlando Magic during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Orlando, Fla.
AP Photo/Tyler Tate
AP Photo/John Raoux