NBA Summer League In Las Vegas Adapts To County’s Mask Mandate, Draws 11,218 Fans On First Day Of 10-Day Event On UNLV Campus
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
After a year wiped out because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the NBA Summer League has returned to Las Vegas.
The 10-day event has a baseball spring training feel to it, a relaxed atmosphere where former pros walk the main concourse in shorts and tickets cost $35 to get in to Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion to watch the day’s worth of pro hoops games. It’s traditionally staged on the UNLV campus around the second week of July, but the revised NBA schedule prompted the summer league to be shifted to August this year.
Some things never changed. There was event co-founder Warren LeGarie walking the Thomas & Mack floor, chatting with team reps or workers, while fellow co-founder Albert Hall was working at Cox Pavilion during a mid-day Pelicans vs Bulls game.
But some things are different.
There are 12-packs of Clorox sitting on media tables inside Thomas & Mack and masks are required signs standing on the arena concourse. Clark County has an indoor mask mandate because there are too many coronavirus cases in the Las Vegas region. Just over 44 percent of Clark County’s overall population have been inoculated.
All 30 NBA teams are participating. A wrinkle in Sunday’s opening day was that the Pacers-Wizards game was postponed for COVID-19 health and safety protocols. But the Pacers were in action against the NY Knicks in Thomas & Mack today.
There are 75 games to be played during the Aug. 8-17 summer league stint.
Around mid-day, fans had filled the smaller Cox Pavilion and were scattered around the much larger Thomas & Mack venue, which can accommodate more than 17,000 fans and houses the home court for the UNLV basketball team.
The summer league brings together scouts, agents and team workers from not just the NBA but from teams and leagues from around the world. The NBA has expanded its brand globally and scouts are on the lookout for prospects who might not make the NBA teams.
The players just drafted by the NBA teams, plus players who have a year or two in the league, are trying to make a name for themselves at this 10-day event. The summer league promoters have photos of current stars like Steph Curry and Nikola Jokic on murals around the arena exterior.
On Sunday, the event’s first day, attendance was 11,218. The event swag was being sold at the merchandise stand in between Thomas & Mack and Cox, while the arena’s concession stands were open.
List of games for today, Tuesday and Wednesday:
