RJ Davis and other former Tar Heels look to cash in on the California Summer League audition

The NBA’s Summer League circuit is built for late decisions, short leashes, and loud evidence. In California, former college players get a concentrated chance to show skills against real defenders, in real game situations, with NBA teams watching for anything that translates into a training-camp call-up. For North Carolina alumni, the goal is straightforward: make a summer roster, earn a G League opportunity, and keep a pathway open toward the bigger club if the season produces an opening.

A closer look at North Carolina’s representation in the California event highlights how quickly roles can swing even within the same week. According to Tar Heel Blog’s recap, Spurs forward RJ Davis (listed as Davis in the game-by-game notes) produced a strong first California outing after coming off the bench. He scored 15 points in 18 minutes, hit three of five three-point attempts, added three assists, and committed no turnovers, a line that also showed up in game-to-game efficiency through a +16 plus-minus. In the next outing, the production cooled, with Davis totaling two points in 21 minutes, turning the ball over three times and going 0 for 5 from three while still recording four assists.

Tar Heel Blog also reports that Davis got the start in a third California game and responded with 18 points in 29 minutes, though his shot profile stayed uneven (two made threes on seven attempts). Still, the piece credited him as the Spurs’ most impactful player by plus-minus (+11) in that game, a detail that matters in Summer League evaluation because it reflects how teams compare impact even when the stat sheet is messy.

The broader picture is not just about one player’s scoring, but about how Summer League performance can carry forward into the next stops. California is often treated as a warm-up phase before Utah and then Las Vegas, where the viewing is heavier and roster movement can accelerate. Tar Heel Blog’s recap set that expectation by describing Davis’s California performances as a precursor as the Spurs head toward the next leg.

North Carolina alumni also appear in the California portion of the circuit with different roster stakes. Tar Heel Blog’s preview notes that Powell is playing in his second straight Summer League, and that his situation is distinct because he was selected in the first round last year and is therefore not primarily “fighting” for an invite in the same way. Even so, the piece said Powell’s first two California games did not show the kind of production that makes evaluation easy, including limited shooting and limited field-goal output across the pair.

Beyond the California games themselves, there is another layer to the story: where former Tar Heels landed once college ended. A Tar Heels Wire report said former UNC center Jalen Washington, who completed his college career after time at North Carolina and then Vanderbilt, will try to earn a roster spot with the Chicago Bulls during Summer League. The report described Washington as undrafted and aiming to make the most of the opportunity, and it also pointed to Bulls Summer League roster context involving other Carolina-related names.

Taken together, these California performances illustrate how Summer League functions as a rotating audition. Veterans and prospects alike can see their stock rise or fall quickly based on fit, decision-making, and whether their strengths show up under pressure. For teams, those games are also a practical screening tool for fringe rotations and two-way candidates, since live minutes help separate who can defend, who can shoot, and who can run a playmaking or spacing role for a lineup built on short-term needs.

What to watch next is how the same players carry their roles out of California. Davis’s pattern of sharper bench scoring followed by a starting-game burst, even with shooting variance, will be scrutinized for consistency. Meanwhile, Powell’s reported shooting and scoring struggles in the early California games could determine how much trust he receives as the event shifts to the next phase. For Washington, the watch is simpler, but no less important: whether he can translate his interior skill set into stable minutes with a summer roster designed to identify quick contributors and organizational fits.

For now, the story is about opportunity and evaluation, not certainty. Summer League is a condensed window, and it can favor hot shooting as much as skill development. But for former UNC players, those minutes still function as proof, and proof is what moves the process forward in July.