Just one month after the Golden State Warriors won the Finals, another NBA championship will soon be up for grabs.
Every NBA team will trek to Las Vegas for summer league this month. While the event is more about professional development, it never hurts to leave Sin City with an additional prize.
Before there was a team award, summer league began handing out individual accolades. The Las Vegas Summer League, which started in 2004, introduced individual awards in 2006 and only started crowning tournament champions in 2013.
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Here are the teams and players who have won big during summer league over the years:
Which team has won the most summer league titles?
Though they are in the midst of a historic NBA playoff drought, the Sacramento Kings own the most summer league championships.
Sacramento won the second ever summer league title in 2014. It then became the first franchise to win a second summer league championship when it beat the Boston Celtics in the 2021 title game.
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NBA summer league champions by year
Here’s a year-by-year look at summer league champions, as well as Championship MVPs:
- 2013: Golden State Warriors, Ian Clark
- 2014: Sacramento Kings, Ray McCallum
- 2015: San Antonio Spurs, Jonathon Simmons
- 2016: Chicago Bulls, Jerian Grant
- 2017: Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma
- 2018: Portland Trail Blazers, K.J. McDaniels
- 2019: Memphis Grizzlies, Brandon Clarke
- 2020: Event canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021: Sacramento Kings, Louis King
NBA summer league MVPs by year
Some premium lottery picks, including a pair of No. 1 overall picks, have used summer league as a way to put the NBA on notice.
Here are the players who have won the top individual honor at summer league:
- 2006: Randy Foye, Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2007: Nate Robinson, New York Knicks (Most Outstanding Player)
- 2008: Jerryd Bayless, Portland Trail Blazers (Top Rookie)
- 2009: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
- 2010: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- 2011: Event canceled ahead of NBA lockout
- 2012: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers; Josh Selby, Memphis Grizzlies (co-MVPs)
- 2013: Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors
- 2014: Glen Rice Jr., Washington Wizards
- 2015: Kyle Anderson, San Antonio Spurs
- 2016: Tyus Jones, Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2017: Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2018: Josh Hart, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2019: Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
- 2020: Event canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021: Davion Mitchell, Sacramento Kings; Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets (co-MVPs)