The Los Angeles Lakers filled out their Summer League roster with a number of players. One of them will not be RJ Davis, who has the potential to earn a spot in the NBA given his prodigious scoring ability -- but who has already been cast off by the Lakers.
The new era of college basketball can convince star players without an obvious NBA future to stay in school for as long as possible, making millions of dollars in NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals and starring for their college teams.
That is the path that RJ Davis took, starring for the University of North Carolina for a full five seasons. He scored 2,725 points for the Tar Heels, leading them all the way to the Final Four in one season and a No. 1 seed in another. He was the ACC Player of the Year in 2024 and was a consensus first-team All-American that same year.
RJ Davis starred at multiple levels
Davis is not an elite athlete, a plus defender or extremely young, so his NBA prospects were not high when he entered the 2025 NBA Draft even with his college accomplishments. After going undrafted, Davis signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers. He spent training camp with the team, then was waived and joined the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League.
In South Bay, Davis became an absolute offensive star. He averaged 18.3 points and 4.9 assists per game in the regular season, bombing away with 2.6 3-pointers per game at a sizzling 45.9 percent. He earned All G League honors at season's end. He seemed like an obvious candidate to receive a closer look from the LA front office.
The Lakers gave up on Davis
Despite his production at both the college and G League levels, the Lakers never showed any interest in keeping him around. They failed to hand him one of their two-way slots this summer and did not even bring him onto their Summer League roster.
Instead, the Spurs came in and scooped him up to play for their Summer League teams in both the California Classic and Las Vegas.
The California Classic kicked off on Friday night, and while the Lakers were playing the Warriors, Davis suited up for the Spurs and continued his production from South Bay. He came off the bech to score 15 points in 18 minutes, was a team-high +16 and had the ball in his hands for a game-winning shot that bounced off the back of the rim.
The Spurs have a couple of roster spots available at the back end of the roster, and they could elect to elevate one of their two-way players and hand a spot to Davis. They could also have him play in Austin this year and further develop his game, with an eye toward elevation later in the season.
Davis has a lot to prove, and work to do to show his high-scoring brand of basketball is more than a lower-level party trick. If he can be a microwave scorer off the bench who isn't absolutely destroyed defensively, he might have a chance.
The Lakers decided not to give him that chance. Will they regret it if Davis catches on with the Spurs?
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