Lawson Lovering, a graduate of Central High School in 2021 and a player for the Utah Utes in the 2026 NBA Summer League, will be playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.
Lovering has gone farther than many Wyomingites in what he termed a “blessed” situation, since few of his fellow statemen make it to the major leagues in the US for professional sports.
“Looking back, I can just see how far I’ve come and when I’m having bad days, I can remind myself to give myself grace because I’ve come a long way from,” said Lovering.
The level of play is also at a higher level,” Lovering said. “The game is faster, the guys are stronger, it’s more physical. So just trying to go in every day — whether it be practice or a game — and try to just learn from the guys around me, the coaches around me and just try to earn minutes.”
Sitting at 7-foot-one-inch, Lovering had several division one looks out of high school, and always dreamed of the NBA. However, he assumed after college he would end up in a league overseas.
His mind wandered to his youth, when he would often watch the University of Wyoming and other recently drafted rookies compete in the NBA Summer League. “[The NBA] is like everybody’s dream, if you’re a basketball fan, you grew up playing basketball,” said Lovering.
As a kid, I used to get giddy watching the Summer League draft picks each year. Seeing Larry Nance Jr., a Wyoming native, drafted is something I’ll never forget.
I was ecstatic to see him play in Summer League, and I really like Josh Adams. It is truly incredible to be on the floor battling with men like that, who are top draft picks, second- and third-year players.
Lovering has played through three games in the Summer League so far for the Grizzlies. One stat from his games stands out the most, that being from the plus/minus. While Lovering is on the court, the Grizzlies are up 29 points on their opponents, highlighting his off-ball abilities.
“I’m an undrafted guy and so there’s no draft capital in me, so, what I have to go out there do is go have fun, play hard, do the dirty work, to make sure the team wins,” Lovering said.
“That’s kind of just my mindset going out there every game, trying to do the dirty work for the team and trying to get guys open. Trying to make plays on defensive end, trying to be disrupting on the defensive end, and just playing as hard as I can out there and having fun with it.”
The NBA Summer League will conclude with the Summer League Championship on July 20.
Leave a Reply