NBA 2K26 Summer League Predictions for Saturday, July 12th
The NBA 2K26 Summer League, which takes place in VSiN’s backyard of Las Vegas, Nevada, is here. This event is like the NBA’s version of Comic-Con, as all of the stars, coaches, front office executives and media personalities tend to show up in Sin City. However, the main attraction is the actual basketball itself, which generally features some of the top prospects from the NBA Draft hooping in their new colors for the first time.
For the format of the 2025 Vegas Summer League, along with some notes and tournament futures, check out Jonathan Von Tobel’s in-depth look at the action. However, for some daily best bets, I’ll have you covered. That said, keep reading for my plays for Saturday, July 12th.
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – 5:30 pm ET
The Thunder picked up a good win over the Nets on Thursday. Oklahoma City got some awesome play out of Nikola Topic, Ajay Mitchell and Chris Youngblood, who combined for 57 points in the backcourt. The Thunder were sharp in the victory, and the team did play in the Salt Lake City Summer League in the days before arriving in Vegas. That gave Oklahoma City some extra time to mesh. Now, it’s hard not to like the Thunder to handle their business against the Pacers.
Indiana was similarly explosive at guard in its win over Cleveland the other day, as RayJ Dennis and Quenton Jackson combined for 50. The Pacers also got some strong play out of Enrique Freeman and Phillip Wheeler. However, Johnny Furphy did go down with a head injury after just nine minutes of action. He’s arguably the most talented player on the Pacers SL roster. Indiana team officials did say that Furphy doesn’t have a concussion, but it’d be surprising to see the team risk anything with him here.
Though, even if Furphy does play, the way Mitchell and Topic attack downhill is relentless. It should eventually cause the Pacers to break — especially if OKC is knocking down triples.
Bet: Thunder -3.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 8:30 pm ET
This is a pretty simple handicap for me. Between the California Summer League and the Vegas Summer League, the Lakers are just 2-2 and haven’t looked all that impressive. Darius Bazley is the only player on the team that has really done much to stand out, and he’ll desperately need some of his teammates to step up in order for Los Angeles to beat New Orleans.
The Pelicans, with Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen and Yves Missi, are one of the most talented teams in the entire tournament, and Antonio Reeves, Micah Peavy and Lester Quinones are all capable of pitching in and playing roles. Well, considering New Orleans’ edge in talent in this matchup, it’d be surprising if the Pelicans can’t find a way to win. After losing their opening contest against the Timberwolves, they’re in a must-win situation if they want to have a shot at competing in this tournament.
Bet: Pelicans ML (-112)