Antetokounmpo, Haliburton net ESPY nominations, and fans can begin voting
He now has a chance to bring home a third.
Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar, is again a nominee for the Best NBA Player award at the 2025 ESPYs, ESPN announced June 26. He joins Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokić and Boston's Jayson Tatum.
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Fans can vote for their choices at espys.com and winners will be awarded July 16 on ABC.
Antetokounmpo was second in the NBA regular season in points per game (30.4), sixth in rebounds per game (11.9) and shooting percentage (60.1%), and 13th in assists per game (6.5).
Oshkosh native Tyrese Haliburton nominated for Best Play
Antetokounmpo wasn't the only nominee with a Wisconsin connection.
Oshkosh native and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was nominated in the Best Play category for his game-winner in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was one of the Oshkosh North graduate's many eye-popping moments in the playoffs.
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He also hit the game-winner to eliminate the Bucks in Game 5 of the first round and made a crazy shot to force overtime and lead a Game 1 win against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Haliburton get ESPY nominations
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NBA Summer League 2025: Schedule, key players to watch including Cooper Flagg vs. Bronny James
The NBA Summer League has arrived. The appetizers took place in Salt Lake City and California's Bay Area, with the main course starting Thursday, July 10, in Las Vegas. That's where all 30 NBA teams descend on the city with their rosters of young players trying to get a foothold in the league. It's an NBA event like any other, where fans can get closer to players (more like MLB spring training) than they usually can. Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 NBA Summer League. Where is the NBA Summer League 2025? Las Vegas. That's the short answer. The more detailed answer is that there are actually three Summer Leagues. First, there are a couple of appetizers — the Salt Lake City Summer League (hosted by the Jazz) and the California Classic (played at the Warriors' Chase Center in San Francisco). This summer, those featured the first games for No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe of the 76ers and No. 5 pick Ace Bailey of the Jazz. Then comes the main course — the Las Vegas Summer League. Sin City has been the primary home of the NBA Summer League since 2004, although that first year had just six teams. Now, all 30 teams come to the desert in July, and the games are played in one of two connected arenas on the UNLV campus. Every game is broadcast nationally, and the NBA Summer League has become a convention for the league and a bucket-list item for big NBA fans. Here's what you need to know about the 2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League. What is the NBA Summer League schedule? All 30 teams play at least four games in the Las Vegas Summer League. To see the full schedule of group-play games, just follow this link. Check out @ESPNNBA's 2025 @NBASummerLeague schedule 🏀 Action tips off Thursday in Las Vegas Details: What is the point of the NBA Summer League? While the NBA has turned Summer League into a profit center (low-wage players, packed arenas, broadcast rights), it remains an important part of a team's offseason development — and it can be critical for some players, especially those trying to get noticed and/or earn a roster spot. The point of Summer League depends on the player and their situation. • Rookies with NBA contracts: For the first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, as well as second-rounders who signed an NBA deal, Summer League is a measuring stick. Teams bring in their young players, work them out in their system, and put them in a professional game to see where things stand. While there is a strong temptation among fans and media to draw broad conclusions — and certainly strengths and weaknesses are on full display — what matters is improvement. For example, Utah's No. 5 pick Ace Bailey struggled in his Utah Summer League debut but looked much better in his second game. That growth is what matters to teams. 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For example, the Lakers put the ball in Dalton Knecht's hands at the California Classic and asked him to run the offense and be a shot creator, something they could not do during the regular season with Doncic and LeBron on the court. • Undrafted players/guys without a contract for next season. The best stories of Summer League are the unexpected standouts nobody saw coming. Maybe the most classic example of this was everyone showing up to watch No. 1 pick John Wall at Summer League and walking away saying, 'Who is this Jeremy Lin kid?' Or watching a player such as Austin Reaves stand out enough with the Lakers that he played his way into a two-way contract with the team (and eventually became a key part of their rotation). These players without contracts after the summer make up the vast majority of players in Las Vegas. These are the guys diving after loose balls and hustling at every step because they are playing for their next contract (that can also lead to some questionable shot selection and decisions as guys try to do too much). Some of those contracts will be in the G League, and many of them will be playing overseas next season. That is part of the quiet business going on at Summer League, there are a lot of international scouts looking at players not quite ready to make an NBA roster who would be the standout star of a mid-sized European club. When is Cooper Flagg's NBA Summer League debut? No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is scheduled to make his debut Thursday night, July. 10, at 8 ET when the Dallas Mavericks take on the Los Angeles Lakers (the game will be broadcast on ESPN). Flagg's second game is scheduled for Saturday at 4 ET (ESPN), when he and the Mavericks take on No. 2 pick Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs. 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