Three former Wahoos set to play in the NBA’s Summer League

As the 2021-2022 NBA season has come to a close, the 2022 NBA Summer League is kicking off with three former Virginia Cavaliers taking part. Specifically, Trey Murphy will take on a leadership role with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sam Hauser will hope to prove he’s worth a multi-year contract with the Boston Celtics, and Jay Huff will look to show off his high potential with the purple and gold.

While Hauser and Murphy won’t start play until the ninth, Huff and the Lakers have already hit the hardwood. In 21 minutes yesterday against the Heat the North Carolina native tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and two assists while also putting his ridiculous dunking ability on full display.

In fact, Huff was so impressive against Miami that our colleagues at Silver Screen & Roll, who cover the Lakers for SB Nation, wrote the following:

On the list of Lakers fans were excited to see coming into Summer League, Jay Huff certainly would not have ranked highly on that list. However, the big man showed why the Lakers had him on a two-way deal last season at one point and why his future could be bright.

Huff defended the rim exceptionally well on the day, both in transition and the half-court. Officially, he was credited with only two blocks but that both feels inaccurate and doesn’t feel encapsulate how many shots he changed at the rim on the day.

He mixed that in with an offensive output that included a 3-pointer and a pair of athletic finishes at the rim as well as some nice passes out of short roll situations that impressed. It may only be one Summer League game but Huff has been on the Lakers radar for a while and in-house for a while now.

If he continues playing as he did on Saturday, he could very well play his way onto a roster this fall.

Meanwhile, Murphy enters his second year of summer league play as an established part of New Orleans’ NBA rotation. After impressing everyone with his shooting and finishing ability last summer, he’s prioritizing being a veteran for the younger guys on the summer league roster.

Lastly, Hauser is focusing on cementing himself as one of the Celtics’ up and coming players as Boston reportedly declined his team option as they hope to lock him down for a number of years. Clearly, despite only appearing in 26 games for Boston this season, Hauser has made his mark on the Celtics’ brass.

To track when these three play, you can take a look at the full summer league schedule here.