[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-tar-heels-summer-league-california-auditions-vegas-stakes":82,"category-counts-nav":96,"related-tar-heels-summer-league-california-auditions-vegas-stakes":106},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":43,"author":86,"excerpt":87,"date":88,"readTime":89,"image":90,"imageAlt":83,"tags":91,"body":94,"_path":95},"Tar Heels in the Bay: RJ Davis Shines, Powell Struggles, Ryan Waits","tar-heels-summer-league-california-auditions-vegas-stakes","basketball","Maya Rodriguez","Three former UNC guards navigated the California Summer League with wildly different results, and Vegas will judge them all.","2026-07-09 02:33:13","6 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Ftar-heels-summer-league-california-auditions-vegas-stakes.webp",[43,92,93],"Summer League","UNC Basketball","## The Audition Truth\nChase Center glows under the San Francisco fog, a shimmering cathedral of Bay Area hoops. But the crowd inside is sparse, the atmosphere closer to an open scrimmage than a meaningful contest.\n\nThis is the California Summer League, where basketball dreams get measured in minutes and plus\u002Fminus ratings. It is not about winning or losing. It is about surviving.\n\nFor three former North Carolina Tar Heels, the California circuit was a pressure-cooker of opportunity, a trying-out ground before the cameras and stakes get cranked up in Las Vegas. The early returns range from incandescent to deeply uncomfortable.\n\nSummer League basketball strips away the glamour and leaves the desperation visible. Everyone on the floor is playing for an invite. A roster spot. A two-way deal. Even a G League lifeline that keeps the NBA door cracked open for when injuries inevitably strike during the long winter.\n\nThe California League wrapped up Monday. The verdicts are in.\n\n## RJ Davis and the Art of the Bounceback\nThe San Antonio Spurs went winless in the California Summer League, which sounds like a disaster but is completely irrelevant to the individual stories unfolding within those losses.\n\nRJ Davis was the Tar Heel story of the week.\n\nPlaying for his second Summer League stint after a run with the Lakers last year, Davis embraced the bench role in his first two outings and then demanded the starting spot with his play. The trajectory of his three games tells a story of adaptability.\n\nIn the opener, Davis scored **15 points in 18 minutes** off the bench. He was deadly from beyond the arc, connecting on **three of five** three-point attempts. He dished **three assists** without a single turnover. That clean ledger powered a team-best **+16 plus\u002Fminus** rating.\n\nThen came the stinker. In_GAME two, Davis managed just **two points in 21 minutes**. His shooting collapsed entirely. He missed all **five** of his three-point attempts. He committed **three turnovers** alongside four assists. It was the kind of performance that buries careers in the G League treadmill.\n\nBut Davis responded. That is what mattered.\n\nPromoted to the starting lineup for game three, Davis dropped **18 points in 29 minutes**. He only hit **two of seven** threes, but he attacked the rim with purpose and once again led the Spurs in plus\u002Fminus with a **+11**. The jumper wobbled. The motor roared.\n\n> When you strip away the emotions, RJ's California tape shows an undersized guard who refuses to disappear. That plus\u002Fminus consistency is real currency.\n\nFor a guard whose NBA viability depends entirely on offensive efficiency and decision-making, that ability to self-correct is his most important trait. Vegas will test whether that consistency was real or a mirage.\n\n### By the Numbers: RJ Davis in California\n- **35 total points** across three games\n- **5-of-12 from three-point range** in the opener and finale combined\n- **+16 plus\u002Fminus** in game one, the best mark on the Spurs\n- **0 turnovers** in his first outing before committing six across the next two\n- **29 minutes** earned in the starting role for the finale\n\n## When the Jumper Abandons You\nDrake Powell entered this summer with a different kind of pressure entirely. Unlike Davis and Cormac Ryan, Powell isn't fighting for a professional foothold.\n\nHe already has one.\n\nThe **Brooklyn Nets first-round pick** from the previous year, Powell is a rostered player whose license to play in Las Vegas is guaranteed. Second-year development is your goal. The California League was supposed to be a sweep of rust and rhythm-building.\n\nIt was anything but.\n\nPowell played in two of Brooklyn's three games for undisclosed reasons. In those two appearances, his stat line reads like a shooter's nightmare.\n\n**One field goal on 17 attempts.**\n\n**0-for-9 from three-point range.**\n\nThose numbers are staggering. Not bad. Staggering. It is the kind of cold streak that sends shooters to dark rooms and sports psychologists.\n\nBut buried underneath the offensive rubble were signs of a basketball player still contributing. Powell grabbed **12 rebounds** across his two appearances, a meaningful contribution from the wing position. The problem was the **five turnovers** that offset the board work.\n\nHere is the charitable read: Powell is a 19-year-old in his second taste of Summer League, still learning the speed and physicality of the professional game. The Nets invested a first-round pick in his frame and defensive instincts, not his shooting percentage in July.\n\nHere is the uncomfortable read: A **5.9% shooting rate** in any professional setting, even a Wild West Summer League environment, sets off alarms.\n\nThe Nets need him to rediscover his shot in Vegas. Not next season. Now. Confidence is fragile, and a prolonged slump can metastasize.\n\n## Cormac Ryan's Waiting Game\nOf the three Tar Heels in California, Cormac Ryan faced the most unusual week.\n\nRyan is a Summer League veteran, playing in his **third consecutive** circuit and his second straight with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was the old head in the locker room, the guy who has navigated this chaos before.\n\nHe only played once.\n\nRyan started Milwaukee's opening game and delivered a genuinely strong performance. He scored **13 points in 19 minutes**, displaying the same combo-guard efficiency he flashed at Chapel Hill. The Bucks then sat him for the next two games for undisclosed reasons.\n\nThat is where the story gets interesting.\n\nThe Bucks are a franchise in full transformation, having traded away their franchise cornerstone and pivot. A team rebuilding its identity needs cheap, versatile guards who can shoot and handle. Ryan fits that profile perfectly.\n\nHis lone appearance showed enough to warrant more looks.\n\n> Cormac is the kind of player every transitioning team needs: low-maintenance, skilled, and ready when his number is called. The question is if Milwaukee hears the phone ring more often in Vegas.\n\n## The Las Vegas Crucible\nThe California League is the preamble. Las Vegas is the examination.\n\nEvery NBA front office sets up camp on the Strip for the main Summer League event. More scouts, more executives, more cameras, more pressure. The gym is louder, the lights are brighter, and every possession feels like it carries more weight.\n\nFor RJ Davis, Vegas is a chance to prove his game-three surge was the real version, not the game-two horror show.\n\nFor Drake Powell, Las Vegas represents a mental test as much as a physical one. Can a first-round pick shake off a 1-for-17 California funk and rediscover the stroke that made his name?\n\nFor Cormac Ryan, the question isn't about readiness. It's about opportunity. Will the Bucks give him the runway to prove he belongs on a roster in transition?\n\n### What's Next\nAll three Tar Heels will continue their summer auditions in Las Vegas this week.\n\nDavis needs to shoot with more consistency from the perimeter while maintaining his aggressive plus\u002Fminus mindset. The Spurs are a developing team with a clear need for backcourt depth, and a strong Vegas showing could turn a training-camp invite into something more substantial.\n\nPowell's priorities are entirely psychological. The Nets need their young wing to shoot the ball without hesitation, but he must also cut down on turnovers and translate his rebounding_activity into transition opportunities.\n\nRyan's box score in Vegas will depend entirely on whether the Bucks give him the minutes. His track record suggests the skill hasn't eroded. The opportunity is the variable.\n\nThe California chapter is closed. The Las Vegas crucible awaits. Three Tar Heels. Three paths. One chance to prove they belong.","\u002Farticles\u002Ftar-heels-summer-league-california-auditions-vegas-stakes",[97,85,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105],"analysis","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[107,119,129],{"id":108,"stem":108,"path":109,"title":110,"category":85,"badge":111,"badgeType":112,"author":113,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":116,"readTime":89,"image":117,"imageAlt":110,"tags":43,"excerpt":118},"lamar-odom-plea-deal-las-vegas-dui-the-fall-that-never-stopped","\u002Farticles\u002Flamar-odom-plea-deal-las-vegas-dui-the-fall-that-never-stopped","Lamar Odom's Plea Deal: The Fall That Never Stopped","Feature","category","Chloe Bennett","SportPulse Contributor","CB","2026-07-08 04:53:02","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Flamar-odom-plea-deal-las-vegas-dui-the-fall-that-never-stopped.webp","A Las Vegas courtroom offers Lamar Odom another legal exit, but the road from champion to cautionary tale demands a deeper reckoning.",{"id":120,"stem":120,"path":121,"title":122,"category":85,"badge":123,"badgeType":112,"author":124,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":125,"date":126,"readTime":89,"image":127,"imageAlt":122,"tags":43,"excerpt":128},"lebron-james-free-agency-last-dance-legacy","\u002Farticles\u002Flebron-james-free-agency-last-dance-legacy","LeBron's Final Chapter: The Stakes of Free Agency at 40","Offseason","Elena Rossi","ER","2026-07-01 13:48:32","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F1dbe\u002Flive\u002Fba0084c0-7547-11f1-9499-0d1c901927e6.jpg","LeBron James enters free agency for the last time, and the decision will define how his unparalleled career closes.",{"id":130,"stem":130,"path":131,"title":132,"category":85,"badge":123,"badgeType":112,"author":86,"authorRole":133,"authorInitials":134,"date":135,"readTime":136,"image":137,"imageAlt":132,"tags":138,"excerpt":139},"flatbush-five-brooklyn-nets-summer-league-pressure","\u002Farticles\u002Fflatbush-five-brooklyn-nets-summer-league-pressure","Brooklyn's Flatbush Five: Who Carries the Heaviest Burden?","NBA Correspondent","MR","2026-07-09 02:18:31","9 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fmedia.zenfs.com\u002Fen\u002Fsb_nation_articles_115\u002F24bd63ecbb1259c478141d7632e47f78","NBA, Draft","Five first-round picks, one franchise's future. As Summer League unfolds, the pressure on Brooklyn's rookie class intensifies."]