The games are over. The chaos? It’s just beginning.
NBA Summer League is underway. The transaction wire has cooled. Players are either courtside in Vegas cheering on teammates fighting for roster spots — or off the grid, recovering before another 10-month marathon.
Still, the NBA never sleeps. And this weekend, seven stories cut through the noise in a league that somehow stays wired 24/7.
MAVS SHUT DOWN COOPER FLAGG
It only took two games.
After dropping 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting against the Spurs, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg was shut down for the rest of Summer League. It was enough to validate what most scouts already believed: He’s the real deal.
With Kyrie out and Anthony Davis expected to miss time, Flagg will have plenty of opportunity to develop into Dallas’ future face of the franchise — assuming the front office doesn’t panic and flip him for a 30-something vet.
DRAKE STARTS A FIRE
It’s safe to say that friendship is officially dead.
Drake, once one of LeBron James’ loudest supporters, has turned the page — literally. The five-time Grammy winner covered his old LeBron tattoo with a new one: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada’s MVP, champion, and Finals MVP of 2025.
The move comes after Drake’s public loss in a rap battle to Kendrick Lamar, capped by Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert in L.A. — where LeBron was filmed dancing to “Not Like Us,” the diss track that buried Drake’s summer.
Clearly, it’s personal now, though it doesn’t get much more intimate than tattooing another man’s face on your skin.
KLAY THOMPSON BROKE THE INTERNET
Klay Thompson’s range extends well beyond the bounds of a hardwood court.
Thompson’s off-court moves made waves this weekend when he went Instagram official with Megan Thee Stallion. He shared the news in photos of the two as a couple on his Instagram page over the weekend, and the post immediately went viral with some fans even going a step further, looking to identify Thompson as a figure in the background of one of Megan’s pictures.
It’s safe to say games at the American Airlines Center is going to be active for the 2025-26 season in Dallas. Could this be the NBA’s version of what the NFL has in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift?
IShowSpeed INTERVIEWS GIANNIS
Streaming superstar IShowSpeed met up with former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, where Antetokounmpo told him “a lot of people want me to go [to the Knicks].”
Asked by Speed whether or not he’d end up going back to Milwaukee this summer, Antetokounmpo said “probably.”
The Knicks are known to be one of a plethora of teams keeping tabs on Antetokounmpo’s availability in the trade market should The Greek Freak request a trade from Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo won Finals MVP on the Bucks team that claimed the 2021 title, but Milwaukee has lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
KYRIE IRVING HAS BEGUN STREAMING
With his ACL recovery underway, Kyrie Irving is shifting gears — launching a Twitch stream and quickly finding his footing in the media space.
The former Nets star guard who won a championship alongside LeBron James in Cleveland now has an active Twitch stream and following. In his two most recent episodes, Irving has interviewed his former teammate, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, and former Pacers center Myles Turner, who left Indiana fresh-off an NBA Finals run to join Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks this free agency.
Irving also used his stream to temper expectations of an early return to the Mavericks next season, meaning throw out the idea of his return by the All-Star break — or maybe even into April.
JOEL EMBIID NOT YET BACK ON THE COURT
Joel Embiid still hasn’t resumed on-court activity following April knee surgery, per The Athletic’s Tony Jones. But the Sixers remain “optimistic” he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season.
The reigning MVP candidate remains one of the biggest X-factors in the East. When healthy, he’s dominant — three straight seasons averaging 30+ points on 50 percent shooting. But health has never been a guarantee: Embiid has appeared in just 58 total games over the last two seasons.
If he’s right, Philly is a contender. If not, they’re back at square one.
Good thing they can rely on Paul George to pick up the slack if Embiid is out.
TATUM PLAYING CHESS
The Celtics say they’re still contenders. But without Jayson Tatum, who’s out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, it’s hard to believe the East’s defending champs are going anywhere fast.
Tatum, though, is already looking ahead — and he’s trying to bring Damian Lillard with him.
According to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, Tatum has been “active” in recruiting Lillard, who was waived by the Bucks after suffering his own Achilles tear during the playoffs.
A two-year vet-min deal would let Lillard collect his Bucks money and join Boston without eating cap. By 2026, the Celtics could roll out a fully healthy core of Lillard, Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White — setting the stage for a monster comeback story.
