Which NBA Teams Have the Most Summer League Championships?

The NBA Summer League is set to start on July 8 as freshly drafted players look to make their debuts with their new teams. The Summer League is a great way for prospects to integrate themselves with their new squads and for fans to see how these new players might fit with the team.

Dating back to 2013, the NBA has held a tournament to crown a team the champion of Summer League. Considering that leaves barely a decade’s worth of official Summer League winners, few teams have pulled ahead of the pack in terms of number of titles.

However, since the Summer League’s inception in 2004, a group of teams has consistently performed better than the others. Here’s a look at the teams with the five most successful track records in the history of the NBA Summer League.

5 Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs

A three-team tie for fifth emphasizes the tight margin of success that defines this list

Since neither the Summer League nor the Summer League Championship has existed for too long, many teams have had trouble setting themselves apart with an abundance of success. And with the structure and intent of the league and tournament, it’s not exactly meant to foster consistent team success.

This doesn’t mean that teams haven’t been able to set themselves apart, only that the margins are thinner. Coming in with a three-way tie for the fifth-most successful teams in Summer League history are the Cleveland Cavaliers , the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs .

With each team winning one Summer League Championship and the non-tournament years with the best record once, they find themselves tied for fifth. The Cavaliers are the most recent Summer League Champions of this bunch, having won last season (2023), followed by the Grizzlies (2019) and finally the Spurs (2015).

With both the razor-thin margins that differentiate the teams on this list and the Summer League only on its first leg, any of these three teams could increase their summer standing with even a single championship victory.

4 Golden State Warriors

Golden State, the first official Summer League champions, comes in fourth

The Golden State Warriors place fourth among NBA teams with the most Summer League titles, with one championship and twice finishing with the best record of the summer before the integration of the championship tournament. Winning their championship in 2013 (becoming the inaugural Summer League champs), the Warriors also managed to win the NBA Finals within two years, putting them in a unique spot among the most successful summer teams.

The Warriors are in the midst of a tumultuous offseason that could see the dismantling of their dynasty. Considering they won their Summer League before their dynasty even started and the team should be acquiring higher and higher draft picks each season as their stars phase out of the league, the Warriors could very well only have seen the start of how well they can play in Vegas.

3 Los Angeles Lakers

LA put together one of the more impressive stretches in Summer League history

The L.A. Lakers , with one Summer League championship and an additional championship appearance, have been the third most successful team to play in the Summer League. Their sole championship MVP, Kyle Kuzma , may also be the most successful Summer League championship MVP.

The Lakers won their championship in 2017 and made their second championship appearance the following season, allowing them to roll out extremely talented young teams. Over those two seasons, Kuzma, Lonzo Ball , Brandon Ingram , Alex Caruso, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac and Mo Wagner played for the Lakers’ Summer League teams.

The Lakers are also among the only teams to win a Summer League championship shortly before winning the NBA Finals, even keeping Kuzma and Caruso from their championship-caliber summer squads. Perhaps Bronny James can help bolster their Summer League standings, but for now, the Lakers have the third-best Summer League track record in the NBA.

2 Sacramento Kings

Only one of two teams with multiple championships

With two championships and an additional runner-up finish, the Sacramento Kings are the second most successful team in the history of the NBA’s Summer League. Winning their Summer League championships in 2014 and 2022, the Kings’ summer successes have come in the latter half of the Summer League era.

The Kings’ MVPs in their championships were Ray McCallum Jr. (2014) and Louis King (2021). These Summer League championships and championship appearances, similar to the team atop this list, have failed to translate to real success for their NBA counterparts.

Since the inception of the Summer League, the Kings have reached the NBA postseason only three times and failed to make it out of the first round each time. Since the introduction of the championship to the Summer League, the Kings have only made the playoffs a single time, losing in seven games to the Warriors.

Although the Kings are one of the most successful teams in the summer, they have found themselves in this position due to a consistent lack of regular-season success rather than special recognition for young talent. With draft picks regularly higher than most teams, even if the prospects don’t pan out, the Kings have been able to put together the second-best Summer League resume in the league.

1 Portland Trail Blazers

Edging out the competition only slightly, the Blazers have had the most success in the NBA Summer League

The Portland Trail Blazers have had more success in the Summer League than any other team. Along with entering the season twice as Summer League champions, the Trail Blazers have been runners-up once and finished with the best record twice before the championship was awarded.

Winning their first championship in 2018 and following it up with another in 2022, the Trail Blazers set themselves apart with their non-victorious seasons. In fact, the Blazers are the only franchise to win a Summer League Championship, lose in the championship game and finish with the best record in the league before the championship was around.

The Trail Blazers have shown a talent for assessing the potential of younger players, as evidenced by their Summer League track record, but unfortunately, they lack the same level of talent for developing that young talent.

Although they have won an NBA Finals and made two finals appearances, they won their championship back in 1977 and haven’t been to the finals since. Their Summer League MVPs were KJ McDaniels in 2018 and Trendon Watford in 2022.

That shouldn’t take away from Portland’s ability to spot quality talent in young players, however, as they still remain the most successful Summer League team in the history of the NBA. And with the drafting of Donovan Clingan, they have a solid chance to add to their resume this summer in Las Vegas.

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