The 2026 NBA Summer League title game was a really good basketball game. It was also decided by a call that never should have been made.
Cameron Boozer, the Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward and second overall pick, was in the middle of what looked like the game-tying play. He drove on Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg with the Grizzlies down by two in the final minute. The ball rolled in and out of the rim. Lendeborg came down with the loose rebound but held it under his own basket for what felt like an eternity.
Boozer stripped him clean. The ball went in the hoop. Tie game. Or so it seemed.
Except the whistle came from the sideline. Timeout, Warriors. Golden State head coach Khalid Robinson had been trying to signal for one for a while, and a sideline official finally granted it. Which would be fine, except the replay clearly showed Boozer had already taken the ball away before the timeout was awarded.
Momentum killed. Basket wiped. Warriors ball. Golden State went on to win 94-90 to claim the second Summer League championship in franchise history.
Officials in Summer League games are not the same crews that work regular season games. They are being evaluated, developed, and often trying too hard to be visible. Sunday’s crew got this one wrong. It was not close on the replay. Boozer had possession. The timeout should not have been granted.
Now, Summer League games do not go to instant replay in the traditional sense. There is no lengthy review process. But the crew watched the play back after the fact and did not overturn it. That is where the frustration really lives. Even in a made-for-highlight July game, competitive integrity has to matter.
Boozer finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. He was outplayed by Lendeborg in the fourth quarter and shot just 1 of 5 from the floor in the final period. That is fair criticism. But the closing possessions decided by a bad official’s call are not on him.
The bigger takeaway from Sunday is Lendeborg. The Warriors rookie went for 21 and 10 with 3 threes and looked like the best rookie in Vegas. He was named MVP of the championship game and deserved every vote.
For the Grizzlies, Boozer showed exactly why they took him No. 2 overall. He is a physical bully in the paint. He rebounds. He passes. His shooting still needs work. But there is a real player here, and next spring in Memphis is going to be fun.
Just do not expect Cameron Boozer to forget about that Sunday sideline whistle any time soon.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
