Post-summer league NBA rookie rankings: Newcomers who stood out - ESPN

NBA scouts, fans and executives eagerly awaited the 2026 draft, and the newest rookie class hasn't disappointed in its first few weeks in the league.

Except for No. 20 pick Jayden Quaintance and No. 21 pick Karim Lopez, who are injured, every first-round selection appeared in multiple games at the Las Vegas summer league.

Which means it's time for some way-too-early rookie rankings, based on the best rookies' potential and their initial showings at summer league. In this exercise, we'll rank the top 11 picks from the 2026 draft, who have been impressive or notable on the court this summer. (That count stops at 11, alas, because No. 12 pick Aday Mara of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks like he has a long way to go before contributing to a championship contender.)

Note that this is a ranking of the players' quality right now, rather than long-term projection, and it's inherently subject to small-sample variance. I saw all of these youngsters play at least once in Las Vegas, but none of them more than twice.

Before we begin, the following rookies all deserve at least a brief mention for their performances: the Cleveland Cavaliers' Meleek Thomas, the summer league scoring leader at 28.3 points per game; the Philadelphia 76ers' Labaron Philon Jr., a smooth offensive operator; and the Toronto Raptors' Allen Graves, a steals machine who could be an absolute terror playing with Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and (maybe) Kawhi Leonard.

Now, on to the top 11 rookies, with some shuffling of their draft order based on summer play.

2026 draft pick: 7

Let's start with the positive: Acuff looks the part of a lead creator. As he threaded several nifty passes through traffic in Vegas, I grew excited to watch him partner with