They Might Be Giants

Not many things could bring us to visit Las Vegas in the sweltering heat of summer except a family reunion and basketball. With the NBA Summer League expanding to all 30 teams, we're getting the most bang for our buck on this trip!

Like the last family reunion, we are down a man again. M is missing out on this one because he is touring all over the country this summer with Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps. We'll catch up with him in August at Drum Corps International's World Championships in Indianapolis.

More on that later. Let's get back to Vegas...

You know we can't drive into town without first stopping at the South Point for Steak 'n Shake!

From there, it was just a short drive over to UNLV. The great thing about Summer League is that an admission ticket gets you into all of the games played on that day. Today was the first day of the playoffs, so there were 10 games scheduled.  The bad thing about Summer League is that the teams are made up of newly drafted rookies, second year guys, and others trying to earn a roster spot, so you aren't necessarily watching the best basketball.

Before we got here, R and J had already scouted out which players/teams they wanted to see. Since all of those games were in the Thomas and Mack Center, we didn't have to go back and forth between there and neighboring Cox Pavilion. I haven't kept up with the new players, so it was more fun trying to spot people I did recognize, like...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a Yasiel Puig jersey

And...

Vlade Divac and Bill Russell

Given that there were a disproportionately large number of tall guys walking around, it was definitely a challenge! "Who is that? He kinda looks like someone who played basketball."

The team we were most interested in seeing was the Chicago Bulls, who had the second game in Thomas and Mack against the Dallas Mavericks. The guys were eager to assess the Bulls first round draft pick, Wendell Carter, Jr.

Their verdict? Although they were disappointed with the Bulls on draft day, they were pleasantly surprised with what they saw on the court. J was especially hyped about Antonio Blakeney.

R had pulled out his vintage Steve Kerr jersey from the 1996-1998 Bulls championship runs to wear to the Summer League games today. But after telling him that "old men should *NOT* wear basketball jerseys in public, unless they are still living in their mother's basement," he passed the jersey on to J.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Good thing he did. Wearing the jersey caught the attention of the staffers working the Bulls game, so J was picked to participate in a trivia game during the break between the 3rd and 4th quarters.

And after having our fill of basketball, we filled our tummies with ramen from Monta!

This is the face of a happy man!

Last stop... the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign! In all of our visits, we've never actually trekked this far south along the Strip. Seeing it with a bride, groom, AND a drunk Elvis?! Absolutely priceless!