Former WSU, EWU wing Cedric Coward helps Memphis prevail in Vegas Summer League debut
LAS VEGAS – There’s usually a level of uncertainty with how things will unfold for a player in their Vegas Summer League debut.
That didn’t apply to Cedric Coward, whose first appearance at the Thomas & Mack Center arrived later than expected – a full year later – and after the former Washington State/Eastern Washington wing appeared in 62 regular-season games for the Memphis Grizzlies, finishing fifth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting.
Coward’s body of work suggested he’d be one of the top players on the court when Memphis arrived at UNLV for Friday’s Vegas Summer League opener against the Chicago Bulls – a highly anticipated matchup that featured the Nos. 3 and 4 picks at last month’s NBA draft.
The 22-year-old Coward posted the game’s only double-double, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds to help Memphis clip Chicago 97-96 in an evening matchup at Thomas & Mack Center. Coward, who made 5 of 12 shots from the field, 1 of 5 from the 3-point line and 3 of 4 from the free throw line, rounded out his stat line with five assists and two blocked shots.
The former No. 11 pick missed out on last year’s games in Vegas while he recovered from the shoulder injury that limited his senior season at Washington State. Coward reached double digits in both of Memphis’ games at Salt Lake Summer League – including a 23-point effort against No. 2 draft pick Darryn Peterson and Utah – and voiced his goals for the Grizzlies’ stay in Vegas over the next 7-10 days.
“Wins,” Coward said. “Win a championship. We did the math and it’s six wins to win a championship. We’ve got one down and five to go.”
Coward’s two-way versatility made him one of the NBA’s most productive rookies in 2025-26, as the Fresno native averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while starting in 47 of 62 games.
The Grizzles are entrusting him to spearhead their pressure defense at Summer League – something that was more effective in the earlier stages of Friday’s game. Chicago erased an 11-point third-quarter deficit, coming within one possession of Memphis on multiple occasions late in the fourth quarter.
Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 overall draft pick, made 12 of 21 shots from the field and 7 of 11 from the 3-point line to score 35 points – the highest total by any player at Summer League through two days.
Cam Boozer, who was selected No. 3 by Memphis, scored 23 points to lead the Grizzlies. With Memphis leading by just two points and six seconds remaining, Boozer drained a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
“I can’t believe he’s 18,” Coward said of Boozer in a postgame ESPN interview. “I’m glad he’s on my team.”
Former Washington State standout and third-year Memphis wing Jaylen Wells was part of the Grizzlies contingent watching courtside on Friday.
Grizzlies don Clarke patch
The jerseys Memphis is wearing at Summer League are adorned with a black stripe and the letters “BC” – a tribute to former Gonzaga and Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, who died in May at the age of 29.
Clarke’s initials are inscribed in white lettering on the black stripe that rests on the left shoulder of the Grizzlies’ jerseys.
The former Gonzaga forward was drafted by Memphis with the 21st overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft and played 309 games over seven seasons with the Grizzlies. Clarke appeared in just two games during the 2025-26 season while dealing with right knee and right calf injuries.
Clarke was found dead inside a Southern California home on May 11. Drug paraphernalia was found at the scene and the former GU player’s death was being investigated as a possible drug overdose.
Watson shuts down Mara
A few-thousand fans stayed around for Friday’s nightcap at Thomas & Mack Center, where Oklahoma City rookie and No. 12 overall draft pick Aday Mara made his Vegas Summer League debut.
Mara’s first game in Vegas didn’t go as planned and former Gonzaga forward Anton Watson had a lot to do with it, matched up defensively with the 7-foot-3 Michigan product for long stretches of Los Angeles’ 96-84 victory.
Watson excelled on both ends, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 3 of 6 from the 3-point line. The ex-Zag and former Gonzaga Prep standout also registered three assists and one rebound, but his most important contribution was the one-on-one defense on Mara, who has a six-inch height advantage on Watson.
A defensive specialist who often guarded all five positions at Gonzaga, Watson made Mara uncomfortable, forcing an airballed jump-hook in the third quarter and a number of other missed shots within 10 feet of the basket. Mara scored two points from the free throw line, but didn’t make a shot from the field, finishing 0 for 3.
Other locals…
• Former Gonzaga wing Jalen Warley didn’t see any time for the Indiana Pacers in the team’s 99-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Efe Abogidi, who played at Washington State from 2020-22, didn’t make an appearance in the Denver Nuggets’ 97-86 loss to the Houston Rockets. Former Washington State center Oscar Cluff, who played for the Cougars in 2023-24 before stints at South Dakota State and Purdue, tallied six points and nine rebounds for Houston.
• Former Gonzaga and Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis missed his only shot attempt and was scoreless in the Brooklyn Nets’ 91-65 loss to the New York Knicks.