2023 Ohio State University
More than a few Buckeyes will be on display in this years NBA Summer League. For those unfamiliar with what that is, I'll make it simple. It's a two week long season where NBA teams get a chance to see their recently drafted players in action against some of the best undrafted players, G League players, and second and third year NBA players who haven't seen much playing time so far in their careers. These are glorified exhibition games and don't have much impact on rosters once we reach the regular season, but they can be fun to see either way. Especially when you know that the guys you've been watching for a few years in college finally earn their shot at the big leagues.
Up first we have the lone Buckeye drafted in this years NBA Draft in Brice Sensabaugh. He will be playing for the Utah Jazz during the regular season this year and will also be active here this summer. Many questions have been posed on how his skills would translate to the NBA and this should give everyone a brief glimpse into what the future may hold for the young former Buckeye. Sensabaugh will be paired with a fellow former Buckeye on the Jazz in Micah Potter. Now Potter did not finish his career with Ohio State as he transferred to Wisconsin after two injury riddled seasons, but they are the lone Buckeye duo to watch this summer.
After them we have the two Buckeyes who were drafted last year and have a full year of NBA experience under their belts, well sort of. The first is Malaki Branham who played for the San Antonio Spurs this past season and averaged over 10 points per game and played in 66 of the teams 82 games this season. This summer will be a chance for Branham to earn some more minutes in the regular season if he can show that he has the ability to lead a young group of players for the Spurs. The second of the two drafted Buckeyes from last year is E.J. Liddell who is technically a second year member of the New Orleans Pelicans roster, but he was only signed to a two-way contract after tearing his ACL in last years summer league. He has not seen live game action in almost a year and this will be his audition reel to make the Pelicans roster this season after being a second round draft pick last year.
He may not make all the headlines, but he's been a fan favorite for years at Ohio State. Last but certainly not least is Justice Sueing who will be playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer. There is no guarantee of a regular season contract for Sueing, so his livelihood and his future career are on the line over these next two weeks. The last time Sueing went into a series of games with something on the line he went off. Those were the final few weeks of the Ohio State basketball season this past year when he used his veteran leadership and basketball savy to push the Buckeyes deep into the Big Ten tournament and nearly got them into the Big Dance. He will be overshadowed by last years top pick in Chet Holmgren, but every Buckeye fan knows that Sueing shines brightest when no one's looking his way.
To catch your favorite Buckeyes in action this summer, please head over to this link for the full schedule on NBA.com.