Former Duke Blue Devil Mark Williams and the Phoenix Suns have some bad news: Williams suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder, was operated on Thursday, and is expected to be out for several months.
That's terrible news for Williams, but it could be very positive news for fellow Brotherhood member Khaman Maluach.
Expected to be Williams' understudy and to eventually become the starting center for the Suns, now there's a lot of pressure on Maluach to produce now.
He entered the NBA last year as a very raw rookie, but like we saw at Duke, he's a fast study. He got a lot out of his time in the G League, and we expect he'll continue his rapid improvement.
Obvious pivot could become Suns' calling card after Mark Williams' injury

#duke #mark #devil

Khaman Maluach already has one of those uncomfortable rookie moments every young player eventually experiences, and his came courtesy of Peyton Watson.
During a sit-down conversation with his Phoenix Suns teammate Dillon Brooks, Maluach said that Watson gave him his first official "welcome to the NBA" moment in a game against the Denver Nuggets.
"My welcome-to-the-league moment was when we played in Denver, and I got subbed in. And I remember Peyton Watson coming off the pick-and-roll, and I'm thinking like, 'Oh, I'm just gonna body up.'"
"And he goes up, and he dunks the ball, and like, boom, boom. I see the whole base up, and I was like, 'Yep, welcome to the league, man.'"
It was the perfect introduction to how quickly things happen in the NBA.

#welcome #moment #league #boom

Phoenix Suns rookie Koa Peat had a productive debut in the NBA Summer League, and the team is eager to see him take the court when training camp begins next month.
Peat logged four appearances with the Suns in Las Vegas, averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 ****** ists and 1.5 steals while shooting 51% from the field. He scored 12 or more points in each game, highlighted by a 19-point effort on July 19.
The 30th overall pick faces an uphill battle to carve out consistent playing time on a team that qualified for the playoffs last season. But Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein, speaking on the "Burns & Gambo Show" on Tuesday, said Peat will have the chance to prove himself.
I think we'll have an incredibly competitive training camp. We are deep. When you look at our depth, I think that is one of our strong suits. At the wing, you have Rasheer (Fleming), who is young, and Ryan Dunn, who is young, and Koa, who is young, on top of Miles (Bridges) and (Jordan Goodwin) and Dillon (Brooks), so Koa's job is to come compete every day and earn rotation minutes. I think we are deep there.
You saw the success of Khaman (Maluach) and Rasheer playing in the G League a little bit and ultimately really contributing the last half of the year, but Koa's mindset after a really good summer league is to come in and earn minutes right away. ... I want Koa to go out and say, 'I want to earn 20 minutes a game from the start.' Luckily, we've really built some depth at that position where there won't be pressure on him to do just that.

#peat #really

After Cameron Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies fell to the Golden State Warriors in the 2026 NBA Summer League championship, fans were curious to know who would take home tournament MVP honors.
Although ESPN named Boozer their MVP of the tournament, NBA voters didn't quite see it the same way, awarding Boozer's rival, Yaxel Lendeborg, with the trophy. However, Boozer was recognized as one of the top players throughout the summer, being named to the 2026 NBA Summer League First Team. Boozer was joined by Lendeborg, Caleb Wilson, Brayden Burries and Meleek Thomas, the only second-rounder to make the first team.
Boozer's teammate Cedric Coward was named on the second team, as well as Zyon Pullin, Egor Demin, Liam McNeeley and another Duke alum, Khaman Maluach of the Phoenix Suns.
The top-two selections in the 2026 NBA Draft (AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson) did not make either team; however, they played in just two and three games, respectively.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Cameron Boozer narrowly misses out on NBA Summer League MVP

#team #league

Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin had already been considered "too good" for summer league with the way he played during the California Classic given how much he improved on both ends of the floor. With that being said, Brooklyn had to be pleased to see Demin playing as well as he did and the NBA recognized just how much impact he had in Las Vegas.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that Demin played well enough during the Las Vegas Summer League that he was placed on the 2026 NBA All-Summer League second-team. Joining Demin on the second team was Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zyon Pullin, Memphis Grizzlies Cedric Coward, Charlotte Hornets forward Liam McNeeley, and Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach.
Demin, 20, finished the Las Vegas Summer League with averages of 21.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 **** ists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 42.6% from the field and 30.0% from behind the three-point line. While Demin made the second team for what he did in Las Vegas, one could argue that he was better in Sacramento during the California Classic as he averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 **** ists, and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 26.7% from deep.
Not only has Demin been recognized as one of the better players that took part in the Las Vegas Summer League, but ESPN's Ben Golliver regarded Demin as the best sophomore of the bunch. While summer league isn't necessarily comparable to playing NBA basketball on a nightly basis, Demin performing well has to do wonders for the team as well as his confidence.
Demin did not shoot the ball well in summer league play compared to how well he shoot the three-pointer during his rookie season, but he showed that he has the ability to be physical on both ends of the floor thanks to his work in the weight room. Demin spoke about how much he was trying to improve the flaws in his game and now, the NBA has recognized how much work he has put in to get better.

#vegas

NBA Communications: The 2026 NBA All-Summer League Second Team: Cedric Coward, memgrizz Egor Dёmin, BrooklynNets Khaman Maluach, Suns Liam McNeeley, hornets Zyon Pullin, Timberwolves
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: The 2026 NBA All-Summer League Second Team:

#khaman

LAS VEGAS — Phoenix Suns 7-footer Khaman Maluach has been the team's best player so far in Las Vegas.
Double-double menace. Knocking down 3s. Vocal leader.
Javonte Cooke and Darius Brown II have led the Suns in scoring in each game, respectively.
Rasheer Fleming has shown flashes of his potential. Koby Brea can't make a 3.
Then there's Koa Peat.

Former Blue Devil and No. 10 overall selection Khaman Maluach impressed in his first summer league game of 2026, scoring 19 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to an 81-79 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Along with his 19 points, Maluach posted 11 rebounds, two steals and one block.
While Maluach will need to take better care of the ball (seven turnovers), his outside shooting was especially impressive. After shooting just 23.8% from beyond the arc during his rookie campaign, Maluach knocked down three of his seven three-point attempts against Portland, adding a new dimension to his offensive game.
For the Blazers, former Blue Devil DJ Steward stood out as well, scoring 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, two ****** ists, two steals and one block. Both players had support from current Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, while another alum, Luke Kennard, was there to support Maluach following his move to Phoenix.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Former Duke top-10 pick showcases new skill at NBA Summer League