NBA Summer League Picks & Predictions: Thursday (7/9)
The NBA Summer League continues in Las Vegas on Thursday night. We’re focusing on a pair of late-night games, as the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards meet at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, while the Sacramento Kings and L.A. Clippers square off at 11:00 p.m. ET, also on ESPN. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA Summer League picks and predictions for Thursday, July 9th.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Summer League Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Utah Jazz (-142) at Washington Wizards (+120) | O/U 186.5 (-110/-110)
Man, it’s all eyes on Darryn Peterson for the Jazz, and AJ Dybantsa for the Wizards. These two were the first two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, and they’ll be front and center in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.
Peterson has already gotten some time under his belt in Salt Lake City, and he looked like a seasoned veteran in his first couple of games. He looked like a man versus boys in his first taste of summer ball, and it will be interesting to see how today’s showdown in Vegas goes.
The Jazz also have Ace Bailey, one of the jewels of last season’s draft class, and Utah is stacked with young talent. However, Bailey was a bit limited in the first three games due to back spasms. Still, the Jazz won three games in three tries, averaging 105 points per game (PPG), while allowing just 90.3 PPG, a point differential of +14.7.
I like the fact that we’ve seen the Jazz play, gel, and gain valuable experience. We’ve yet to see Washington, and while the roster is chock-full of talent with Dybantsa, Felix Okpara, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Kadary Richmond and Tre Carroll, we haven’t seen the chemistry in game situations. Advantage Utah. Let’s back the Jazz, and we’ll go high on the total.
Picks: Jazz -2.5 (-110) & Over 186.5 Points (-110)
Sacramento Kings (-155) at L.A. Clippers (+130) | O/U 180.5 (-110/-110)
It’s Darius Acuff Jr.’s time for the Kings, as we get our first look at the No. 7 overall pick. He’ll join players like Nique Clifford, Dylan Cardwell, Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp, giving Sacramento a solid core of young talent. Sacramento also added Maxime Raynaud to the roster. That’s a big addition to the frontcourt, giving the Kings an embarrassment of riches up front, at least for a summer squad.
The Kings went 3-0 in the California Classic, posting victories over the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Golden State Warriors. Like the Jazz above, the Kings have developed important on-court chemistry.
For the Clippers, the names don’t necessarily make the toes tingle. Cam Christie is back, and he has plenty of NBA experience. College standouts like Themus Fulks from UCF, Fletcher Loyer from Purdue, Nick Martinelli from Northwestern and Baba Miller from Cincinnati make this a nice team for the summer.
But it’s an uphill climb for all players to carve out meaningful roles with the big club. Sacramento looks a lot deeper in terms of talent.
We’ve yet to see the Clippers take the floor, and we’ll go with experience and chemistry over rest and excitement. That’s all we got.
Picks: Kings -1.5 (-110) & Under 180.5 Points (-110)