Play to your strengths is a common refrain in basketball, and Arizona alums Caleb Love and Carter Bryant are doing just that at NBA Summer League.
Love and Bryant are among the top early performers of NBA2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas. Love has scored the ball effectively in back-to-back games for the Portland Trailblazers, while Bryant put on a defensive clinic Saturday for the San Antonio Spurs.
Love went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft but is playing himself on to the Trailblazers roster with consecutive strong scoring outings. Love scored 18 points for Portland Friday night in their win over Golden State. Love responded with another 18 points in the Trailblazers’ loss to Memphis Saturday night.
Love went 7 for 16 in Friday’s game including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. In Saturday’s game, he shot 7 for 21 and 3 of 9 from deep.
A strong Summer League debut for Caleb Love. Had everything on full display. Explosive, shooting it from everywhere, strong handle & crafty finishing
18 pts (7-16 FG, 4-7 3PT), 6 rebs, 2 asts, +25 +/-
Has all the intangibles of being a solid pro guard pic.twitter.com/ZYATuXhF2f
— Jacob Rhymer (@Rhymetime05) July 12, 2025
Love caught up with Arizona men’s basketball social media after the Trailblazers opener and credited the program for preparing him for professional basketball.
NBA Summer League check-in with our guy C Love pic.twitter.com/rpuRhW44i9
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) July 12, 2025
“A lot of the things that coach (Tommy) Lloyd taught at Arizona have translated to the NBA,” Love said. “We kind of do a lot of the same concepts and I appreciate him kind of preparing me for the league.”
Love’s college teammate Bryant drew plenty of attention Saturday for playing tough defense on top overall pick Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks. Bryant, who went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs, is considered one of the top defenders of the rookie class.
Cooper Flagg vs. No. 14 pick Carter Bryant
Watch The DEFENSE on this play pic.twitter.com/SSpRHueZOu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 12, 2025
Two days earlier, Bryant put on a blocking clinic in a Spurs defensive possession against Philadelphia.
Carter Bryant BLOCK PARTY
2 straight denials gives him 3 blocks in a span of 30 seconds pic.twitter.com/30Ope7w19m
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 11, 2025
While Bryant’s defense has been on display in Las Vegas, his offense has not. He went 0 for 7 from the field Saturday and 1 for 6 in the Spurs’ Las Vegas opener on Thursday.
Other Wildcats around Summer League
- Former Arizona big man Christian Koloko scored 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting Saturday in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 94-81 win over New Orleans
- Ex-Arizona teammates Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson are competing with Miami’s Summer League team after spending last season on the team’s NBA roster. On Friday, Larsson had 16 points including nine made free throws in Miami’s loss to Atlanta. Johnson added nine points.
- Former Wildcats Oumar Ballo (Heat) and Trey Townsend Jr. (New Orleans Pelicans) have yet to appear in Las Vegas Summer League games.
On tap
- Sunday will feature one game involving former Wildcats, as Miami plays Cleveland at 4:30 p.m. PST on ESPN+/NBA TV.
- On Monday the Heat will play Boston at 5 p.m. on ESPNU/ESPN+, and the Spurs will play Utah at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+/NBA TV.