The Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0) are preparing to face the Utah Jazz (1-0) on July 10, 2023, in Las Vegas. While still ‘just’ an NBA 2K24 Summer League Showdown, this has a bit more ‘grudge match,’ in it than most summer fun basketball games. This contest is not about winning today, but about making a statement about tomorrow.
After all, it was the Timberwolves who sent four first-round draft picks to the Jazz (plus five players) to acquire All-Star center Rudy Gobert. So each year, the Timberwolves must face a new rookie who got away, selected by the Utah Jazz’s front office with the Timberwolves’ very own draft pick.
1st installment payment
The first installment payment occurred already, as the Jazz selected 6-foot-4 185-pound Baylor guard Keyonte George with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That pick was traded by the Wolves to the Jazz, and there are three more picks to go.
Of course, there are three different competitions that comprise the 2023 NBA Summer League. The first competition was the California Classic Summer League with six teams competing in two games apiece. The second competition was the Salt Lake City Summer League with four teams competing in three games apiece. Finally, there is the NBA 2K24 Summer League competition, where all 30 NBA teams will play five games at a minimum.
So while the two teams are irrevocably linked for the foreseeable future, what keys to tomorrow can be told by this 2023 Summer League game? We have several keys to the contest to keep track of: