The Los Angeles Lakers summer league team had a strong showing in Las Vegas this year. Led by Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero and Arthur Kaluma, the Lakers went undefeated in the first four games in Las Vegas, but would fall to the Golden State Warriors in the semifinals of the playoffs.
While it was certainly a promising showing, it had nowhere near the impact of the Lakers’ 2017 squad, which featured Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, amongst others. That team went on to win the Las Vegas Summer League championship and in Kuzma’s mind was the best Summer League team ever.
“We had the best Summer League team of all-time,” Kuzma said on the White Noise podcast. “It was me, Lonzo [Ball], Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, [Ivica] Zubac, Thomas Bryant, [Alex] Caruso. Matt Thomas played in the league for four or five years. We sold out Thomas & Mack every game, like it was a movie.”
That squad was undoubtedly a legendary one and Kuzma is not wrong in that the Thomas & Mack Center was packed every night for the Lakers. Ball won MVP of the Summer League and was the catalyst, but so many other players on that team have gone on to have great success in the NBA.
Ingram is a multi-time All-Star while Kuzma, Josh Hart and Alex Caruso have all been major contributors on championship teams. Ivica Zubac has developed into one of the best centers in the league and even Thomas Bryant has carved out a solid career for himself as a reliable backup center and won a championship as well.
When combining the talent on that team, what they have all accomplished since that summer, and the frenzy surrounding that squad while in Las Vegas, it is hard to argue Kuzma’s point about them being the greatest Summer League team ever.
Summer League success isn’t always an accurate barometer for what players are capable of doing in the NBA, but in this case, all of the players who contributed to that team in Las Vegas have gone on to have successful careers as well and are still remembered fondly to this day.
Lakers sign Summer League standout Arthur Kaluma to two-way contract
The leading scorer for this year’s team was Kaluma who averaged 18.6 points on 60.9% shooting and 50% from 3-point range in Las Vegas. After a strong showing in the G League last year, the Lakers have seen enough to reward the forward with a two-way contract, waiving guard Peter Suder in order to do so.
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