RJ Davis Continues His Path Following Summer League Performance

The former Tar Heel signs his name on the dotted line.

Jul 10, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dribbles against Los Angeles Lakers guard RJ Davis (26) and guard DaJaun Gordon (45) in the first quarter of their game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

All it took was five years in college for RJ Davis to sign with an NBA team, and not just any team, but one of the best franchises in the league, the Los Angeles Lakers. The White Plains, New York native played for Archbishop Stepinac in high school, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is now on the West Coast playing basketball.

Davis' path shows that five-year players can still reach the NBA. However, his contract is an Exhibit 10 deal, meaning that he will be with the team for at least a year and play in the G-League. Still, that sets him up to possiby obtain a standard contract one day in the future.

The former Tar Heel, who ended as UNC's second all-time leading scorer right behind Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough, played alongside Bronny James, LeBron James' son.

The Lakers have signed guard RJ Davis, forward Eric Dixon, forward Arthur Kaluma and guard Augustas Marčiulionis. pic.twitter.com/ARuBTZ7hgE

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 26, 2025

Here's a brief overview on Davis' performance during the Summer League, per the NBA's website:

"Davis (6’0”, 175) joins the Lakers after five collegiate seasons at the University of North Carolina (2020-25). In his final season with the Tar Heels, he started all 37 games and averaged 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.2 minutes, earning All-ACC Second Team honors. Following his junior season, the New York Native was named the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and claimed the 2024 Jerry West Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate shooting guard.

In 175 career games (155 starts) at UNC, Davis averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.4 minutes. Davis recently competed for the Lakers’ 2025 Summer League team, appearing in both the California Classic and NBA 2K26 Summer League. In the team’s final game in Las Vegas against the Denver Nuggets, the 23-year-old posted 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT), one rebound, three assists and one steal in 25 minutes of action."

Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) drives against Mississippi Rebels guard Dre Davis (14) during the second half of a first round NCAA men’s tournament game at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Davis played for former head coach Roy Williams and then four seasons for Hubert Davis. He has been a part of many impactful games including beating Duke in Coach K's last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium along with defeating the Blue Devils once more in the Final Four of that season.

Stepinac's RJ Davis (1) passes around Iona's Marquis Dukes (11) during basketball action at Iona College in New Rochelle Feb. 2, 2019. | Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There's still a lot of basketball in Davis' future, and maybe one day he can show off skills inside of Crypto.com Arena.

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