The Golden State Warriors are NBA Summer League champions, but that might not be a good thing.
11th overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg led the Warriors to the title as MVP, showing exactly why they felt they got a steal on draft night last month.
But as much as fans will be encouraged to see the young Warriors beat out the competition in Las Vegas, it’s usually a bad omen for the season ahead. Between the last five winners of Summer League, there has been just one playoff series win the following postseason.
But it’s not all bad news. There are success stories we can look at from these previous victors. The medium-term outlook is not so bad.
NBA Summer League champions and what happened next
2025: Charlotte Hornets
The most recent victors are actually one of the more encouraging examples for Warriors fans. The Charlotte Hornets, led by Summer League MVP Kon Knueppel, won the 2025 edition and went on to have one of their best seasons in recent memory.
They reached 44 wins with a core of LaMelo Ball, Knueppel and Brandon Miller, playing some of the most entertaining hoops in the league.
Granted, that was only good enough for the 9th seed, and they didn’t make it past the play-in, but they finished the season two wins off the 5th seed in a congested Eastern Conference.
Ball has been traded, and it looks like they won’t be as good next year, but they have some of the best draft capital in the league. Not bad. Not what the Warriors are looking for, though.
2024: Miami Heat
The Miami Heat were a long way from the standard they held in the 2023 Finals by the time their Summer League victory came around. They won the 2024 tournament weeks after going out in the first round to the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics.
The following season was even worse. They were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, and even outdid that failure by missing the playoffs entirely this past spring.
Things are looking up with Giannis Antetokounmpo — and potentially LeBron James — added to the roster. But it’s fair to say their Summer League win did not steer them in the right direction.
2023: Cleveland Cavaliers
Here it is. The success story. Minimal success, but still.
The Cavaliers followed up their 2023 Summer League win with a 48-win season. They nabbed the fourth seed and beat the Orlando Magic in seven games to get out of the first round. There, they were met with the formidable Celtics, who sent them home in five.
And that’s the only immediate post-season success any of the last five Summer League winners have enjoyed.
Since then, the Cavs haven’t lived up to the roster’s potential, at least not in the games that matter.
2022: Portland Trail Blazers
The worst of the bunch is the 2022 Portland Trail Blazers, who followed up their summer triumphs with a 13th-seed finish. They missed the playoffs by a country mile, boasting a 33-49 record.
And it hasn’t been great since. The 2026 playoffs was their first time reaching the postseason since that Summer League win. They went out to the San Antonio Spurs in Round 1.
Again, for a Warriors fan, it’s a pretty bleak read.
2021: Sacramento Kings
The Kings have the worst regular-season record of anyone on this list, going 30-52 after their 2021 Summer League win.
The reason it’s not quite as bad as the Blazers is because of what they would do the following year. Remember? They lit the beam, made it to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, and took the reigning champion Warriors to a Game 7 in the first round.
Still, they haven’t been back to the playoffs since.
A message for Warriors fans
It’s understandable that all this might make Warriors fans a bit less excited about winning the Summer League. After all, only two of the last five made the playoffs the following season.
There is, however, reason to be optimistic. The business the Warriors are planning this off-season is a touch more ambitious than what these previous winners were looking at in the weeks after.
There’s talk of Anthony Davis. Talk of LeBron James. And you have something none of these teams had — the greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry.
If the Warriors want to buck the Summer League trend, though, they have to get this off-season right.
READ MORE:
How Cooper Flagg rubbed shoulders with Michael Jordan and LeBron James in his rookie season
The biggest steal of 2026 NBA Draft after Summer League is someone who might play with LeBron James
Should LA Lakers fans be worried? What happened after LeBron James left his previous teams
Receive exclusive NBA news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
