Atlanta Hawks to participate in NBA Las Vegas Summer League

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Atlanta Hawks would be one of 24 teams who will take their talents to Sin City, and compete in the NBA’s Summer League from July 11-21st at the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. This coming summer will be the fourth year in which the Hawks participate, having gone 1-5 last during the 2013 campaign. The Birds also participated in the 2010 and 2012 Summer League schedules.

The Summer League might not mean much to the average basketball fan, but with the dates scheduled so closely after the draft, it’ll be an NBA Spring Training of sorts, as the new draft picks will get their first taste of professional ball. And, while new draft picks might not usually arise such an interest, 10 of the 12 Lottery teams will be competing, which means high profile college names like Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle and Andrew Wiggins. Among the 24-team field, there will also be a D-League Select squad (essentially, an All Star team from the best of the NBA’s minor league), who competed valiantly last summer.

Joining the Atlanta Hawks from the Southeast division will be the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets (their first action since the name change) and the Washington Wizards. Also heading to Vegas will be Western Conference Finals contender, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Utah Jazz will make a small bit of team history, as they will compete in their first Las Vegas Summer League.