Phoenix Suns: Fun Facts About Every Summer League Player
It's nearly time for some Phoenix Suns basketball.
While we won't see the likes of Chris Paul or Devin Booker, the Suns have assembled a roster of 16 players to play a five-game schedule in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Some names will look familiar on the list, but general manager James Jones has opted to fill the roster with a few foreign players.
Two of those players, Iffe Lundberg and Asbjorn Midtgaard, will not be participating in the Summer League with Phoenix.
Two Players Depart Phoenix Before Summer League
While the Suns won't begin their Summer League schedule until July 8, here's a few things on each player:
Fun Facts for Each Suns Summer League Player
- Brancou Badio: From Senegal. His nickname is "Papi". Began competing at a senior level at the age of 15. Played for FC Barcelona's basketball team in the past.
- Vrenz Bleigenbergh: From Belgium. Versatile player who can play guard or forward. Began playing at the young age of 4. Rejected offers from Arizona and UCLA to play overseas.
- Tyson Carter: From Mississippi, where he played college ball (Miss. State), the same school his father also played at. Won the VTB United League (Russia) this past season with Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- Ahmad Caver: From Atlanta. Jerry Stackhouse was his AAU coach and legal guardian. Two-time first team All-Conference USA at Old Dominion. Made his NBA debut on Jan. 5.
- Jehyve Floyd: From New Jersey. Two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year at Holy Cross. Has bounced throughout Europe while leading the Greek (2020) and Israeli (2021) leagues in blocks, while winning the Turkish League this past season.
- Karim Jallow: From Germany. Played in FC Bayern Munich's youth squad, idolized Kobe Bryant growing up. Would later sign his first professional deal with Bayern in July of 2015.
- Louis King: 2021 Summer League MVP. Was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team plater at Oregon. Has played in 26 NBA games between Detroit and Sacramento.
- Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.: From South Sudan. Played at Baylor where he earned Big-12 All-Defensive Team honors. Graduated with a degree in Health Studies and Kinesiology. Won the NBL championship in 2021.
- Markis McDuffie: From New Jersey. Played under Bob Hurley in high school. Played at Wichita State collegiately before playing in Hungary and Italy.
- Leonardo Meindl: From Brazil. Just turned 29-years-old. Began his professional career playing in Brazil from 2011-2020, where he began playing in Spain.
- Duop Reath: From Sudan but has Australian nationality, as he represented Australia in the 2020 Olympics. Has played professionally since 2018 in Serbia and Australia after playing college ball at LSU.
- Olivier Sarr: From France. Moved to the United States at the age of 15, played for Wake Forest and Kentucky. Played in 22 games for Oklahoma City last season. Father played profesionally in France and younger brother Alexandre is in Real Madrid's youth team.
- Kameron Taylor: From Maryland. Played at Seton Hill (Division II) and has seen action in Germany, Hungary, France and Israel.
- Dejan Vasiljevic: Born in Canada but moved to Australia when he was six. Signed with Miami after being recruited by LSU and Louisville as well. Second in school history for all-time three-pointers made with 272. Won the NBL with the Sydney Kings this past season.
- Ish Wainright: From Missouri. Played college ball at Baylor before signing as a tight end with the Buffalo Bills. After not making the final roster, he briefly played in Germany and France before signing with Phoenix in late October of last year. He appeared in 45 games with the Suns.
- Kevin Zhang: From China. Idolized Steve Nash growing up. Played at Tulane before returning to China to play in the CBA. In 2021, he held honors such as All-Rookie, All-Star MVP and Slam Dunk Contest Champion.
Suns Summer League Schedule
Game 1: Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers (July 8, 7:00 p.m. local time on ESPN2)
Game 2: Suns vs. Washington Wizards (July 10, 2:30 p.m. local time on NBA TV)
Game 3: Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks (July 12, 7:00 p.m. local time on ESPN2)
Game 4: Suns vs. Sacramento Kings (July 15, 5:00 p.m. local time on NBA TV)
Game 5: TBD.
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