In the opener of the 2023 NBA 2K24 Summer League for both teams, the Houston Rockets will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will be televised to a national audience on ESPN.
Assuming health, it should represent a battle of two top-five overall picks from the first round of the recently completed 2023 NBA draft. Scoot Henderson (No. 3) leads Portland’s summer squad, while Amen Thompson (No. 4) will direct the summer Rockets.
Because both Henderson and Thompson project as point guards, they should spend considerable time in head-to-head matchups. For both prospects, Friday’s showdown will be their first time wearing the jersey of their new NBA team in a game setting.
Then again, Henderson and Thompson won’t be the only big names on the court. The Rockets also have Cam Whitmore (No. 20 overall pick in 2022), Jabari Smith Jr. (No. 3 in 2022), and Tari Eason (No. 17 in 2022) on their summer roster, while Portland will feature Kris Murray (No. 23 in 2023) and Shaedon Sharpe (No. 7 in 2022).
Here’s our look at broadcast details and potential lineups.
When and How to Watch
- Date: Friday, July 7
- Time: 6 p.m. CDT
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free) or via Watch ESPN, with active subscription
Potential starting lineups
Because this is the first 2023 summer-league game for each team, there is no prior lineup on which to base these projections from. This is simply our best guess based on the NBA qualifications from each team’s summer mini-camp roster, assuming full availability.
Houston Rockets (0-0)
- Guard: Amen Thompson
- Guard: Trevor Hudgins
- Forward: Cam Whitmore
- Forward: Tari Eason
- Center: Jabari Smith Jr.
Portland Trail Blazers (0-0)
- Guard: Scoot Henderson
- Guard: Keon Johnson
- Forward: Shaedon Sharpe
- Forward: Kris Murray
- Center: Ibou Badji
Injury/status reports
The NBA does not require injury reports to be issued before summer league games. While teams will often disclose before tipoff if certain players are unavailable, neither the Rockets nor Trail Blazers had done so for Friday’s game at the time of publication.
Rockets’ complete 2023 summer league roster
Headlined by top rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, the #Rockets released their complete roster for the NBA’s 2023 summer league in Las Vegas. Their first game is Friday, July 7. https://t.co/1aKzRpyHHK
— The Rockets Wire (@TheRocketsWire) July 4, 2023
2023 Houston Rockets summer league schedule
Assuming health, Amen Thompson and the summer-league #Rockets will open play in July with a nationally televised matchup versus Scoot Henderson’s Trail Blazers. https://t.co/0TnQp5AmAF
— The Rockets Wire (@TheRocketsWire) June 23, 2023
