The 2026 NBA Summer League tips off Thursday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, and the Minnesota Timberwolves open their slate against the New Orleans Pelicans at 3:30 p.m. ET. Remember, this isn’t the Timberwolves and Pelicans you watch during the regular season — these are Summer League rosters stocked with rookies, second-year prospects, and G League call-ups looking to make an impression before training camp. Anthony Edwards and Zion Williamson are nowhere near this floor, but the players who take it are auditioning for real NBA minutes.
Prediction markets have this one shaping up close, with New Orleans getting a slight nod at roughly 55 percent to Minnesota’s 45 percent in early betting activity ahead of tip-off. That’s a fair reflection of two rosters that leaned heavily on returning two-way players and second-round picks rather than marquee lottery selections, meaning neither team enters as a clear-cut favorite the way a squad built around a top-five pick might.
Minnesota’s group is anchored by 2025 first-rounder Joan Beringer, who is looking to build on a rookie season that saw him average just 7.9 minutes across 40 games. The 7-footer’s physical tools have generated buzz in the organization, and Las Vegas represents a real opportunity for him to show off an expanded role after playing sparingly behind Minnesota’s veteran frontcourt last season. He’ll be joined by fellow big man Rocco Zikarsky, a 2025 second-round pick, and second-round rookie Trey Kaufman-Renn, who the Wolves took with the 59th overall selection in June’s draft.
Point guard duties for Minnesota figure to be split between Zyon Pullin and Aidan Mahaney, both of whom spent time on two-way deals with the Wolves a season ago, while Isaiah Evans and Devin McGlockton round out a wing rotation trying to carve out roster spots heading into camp. Enrique Freeman gives the Wolves another two-way veteran with actual NBA reps, which should help settle this group down in an environment where a lot of teammates are meeting each other for the first time.
New Orleans enters with a 16-man roster coached by new assistant God Shammgod, and the headliner is Micah Peavy, the only player on the roster who logged significant minutes in the 2025-26 regular season. Big man Hunter Dickinson returns after averaging 6.2 points and 5.0 rebounds across four games in last year’s Las Vegas Summer League, giving the Pelicans a proven interior scoring option. New Orleans notably left 2025 lottery picks Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen off this year’s roster, choosing instead to spotlight second-round rookie Jaron Pierre Jr., a New Orleans native out of SMU selected 58th overall who is looking to make good in front of hometown fans. Guard Kobe Bufkin and forward Josh Oduro add further NBA-level experience to a Pelicans group that’s lighter on star power but deep in players who’ve been on NBA rosters before.
Both teams are effectively feeling each other out in this one, with no head-to-head Summer League history to lean on and neither side bringing a top-10 pick from this year’s draft class into the fold. That makes this a game about execution, conditioning, and which group of role players adjusts faster to game speed after weeks of individual workouts.
This game airs on Prime Video as part of a stacked opening slate that runs from early afternoon through the late-night window, and it sets the tone for a tournament format that rewards early wins. Teams that get off to strong starts in these preliminary games position themselves for the better seeding when the four-game group stage gives way to the single-elimination bracket later in the event. For bettors tracking value throughout the two-week window, keeping an eye on live NBA odds coverage is a smart habit heading into the knockout rounds.
Fans looking to line up their next wager or compare markets across sportsbooks can check the latest live NBA odds as the Summer League slate rolls on, and those new to betting should also brush up on responsible gambling resources before diving into a two-week stretch of daily action. Anyone shopping for the best signup value this month should also compare the DraftKings promo code and the FanDuel promo code before placing action on any of these Summer League openers.
New Orleans’ extra NBA-tested depth — Peavy, Dickinson, Bufkin, and Oduro all have real minutes on their resumes — should be the difference in a game where continuity matters more than upside. Minnesota’s group is talented but young, and Beringer and Zikarsky are still finding their legs as full-time contributors rather than end-of-bench pieces.
The Pelicans’ edge in NBA-caliber depth makes them the safer side in a Summer League opener where continuity and experience typically outweigh raw upside, and the market’s lean toward New Orleans backs that read.
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