Three Former Wildcats to Play in NBA 2026 Summer League
Jul 09, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Coleman Hawkins, Nate Johnson and Markquis Nowell will participate.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Three former K-State men's basketball players – Coleman Hawkins, Nate Johnson and Markquis Nowell – will participate in the NBA 2026 Summer League that starts Thursday (July 9) and runs until Sunday, July 19 in Las Vegas.
NBA teams will play round-robin games for a week starting Thursday (July 9) until July 16 before the playoffs run from July 17-18 capped by the championship game on July 19.
All Summer League games will air on the ESPN family of networks or Prime Video.
Hawkins will play for the Denver Nuggets after playing for their G-League team – the Grand Rapids Gold – where he averaged 8.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 35 regular season games in 2025-26. Nowell will play for the New Orleans Pelicans after playing for Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Spanish Liga ACB and Euroleague last season. He played in 46 games for Rio Grande Valley and Raptors 905 in the G-League between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
Johnson recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder and began his pro career at the Salt Lake City Summer League, playing in 3 games this past week.
Nowell and the Pelicans will play in the first game of the tournament against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday (July 9) at 2:30 p.m., CT on Prime. Hawkins and Johnson will play their first games on Friday (July 10) with the Nuggets playing the Rockets at 5:30 p.m., CT on ESPN2 and the Thunder playing the Lakers at 9 p.m., CT on Prime.
Nowell and Hawkins will both be in action on Saturday (July 11) when the Pelicans play the Hornets at 3 p.m., CT on ESPN followed by the Nuggets and Timberwolves at 6:30 p.m., CT on Prime.
There will be two more games on Sunday (July 12) when the Pelicans will play the Suns at 2 p.m., CT on ESPN2 and the Thunder and Warriors play at 5 p.m., CT on Prime.
Hawkins and Johnson will face off on Tuesday, July 14 when the Nuggets and Thunder meet at 8 p.m., CT on ESPN.
Nowell will face his former Wildcat teammate Nae'Qwan Tomlin on Wednesday, July 15 when the Pelicans and Cavaliers battle at 4:30 p.m., CT on Prime.
Johnson and the Thunder will conclude round-robin play on Thursday, July 16 against the Mavericks at 3 p.m., CT on Prime. Hawkins and the Nuggets will follow at 9 p.m., CT against the Trail Blazers, also on Prime.
More information on the NBA 2026 Summer League can be found here.
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
NBA teams will play round-robin games for a week starting Thursday (July 9) until July 16 before the playoffs run from July 17-18 capped by the championship game on July 19.
All Summer League games will air on the ESPN family of networks or Prime Video.
Hawkins will play for the Denver Nuggets after playing for their G-League team – the Grand Rapids Gold – where he averaged 8.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 35 regular season games in 2025-26. Nowell will play for the New Orleans Pelicans after playing for Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Spanish Liga ACB and Euroleague last season. He played in 46 games for Rio Grande Valley and Raptors 905 in the G-League between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
Johnson recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder and began his pro career at the Salt Lake City Summer League, playing in 3 games this past week.
Nowell and the Pelicans will play in the first game of the tournament against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday (July 9) at 2:30 p.m., CT on Prime. Hawkins and Johnson will play their first games on Friday (July 10) with the Nuggets playing the Rockets at 5:30 p.m., CT on ESPN2 and the Thunder playing the Lakers at 9 p.m., CT on Prime.
Nowell and Hawkins will both be in action on Saturday (July 11) when the Pelicans play the Hornets at 3 p.m., CT on ESPN followed by the Nuggets and Timberwolves at 6:30 p.m., CT on Prime.
There will be two more games on Sunday (July 12) when the Pelicans will play the Suns at 2 p.m., CT on ESPN2 and the Thunder and Warriors play at 5 p.m., CT on Prime.
Hawkins and Johnson will face off on Tuesday, July 14 when the Nuggets and Thunder meet at 8 p.m., CT on ESPN.
Nowell will face his former Wildcat teammate Nae'Qwan Tomlin on Wednesday, July 15 when the Pelicans and Cavaliers battle at 4:30 p.m., CT on Prime.
Johnson and the Thunder will conclude round-robin play on Thursday, July 16 against the Mavericks at 3 p.m., CT on Prime. Hawkins and the Nuggets will follow at 9 p.m., CT against the Trail Blazers, also on Prime.
More information on the NBA 2026 Summer League can be found here.
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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