From Dennis Velasco,
Your Guide to Basketball.
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About.com NBA Summer League guru Dave Deckard takes a look around him as he finds himself immersed in the summer league culture. These are his findings about the people - the rookies, the veterans, et al.

One of the fascinating aspects of the NBA Summer League is its intimacy. Unlike cavernous NBA arenas where fans are separated from athletes by curtains, ropes, and acres of space, UNLV’s Cox Pavilion puts you right on top of the action. Various coaches and team officials sit in the stands to watch the games. With 4-6 contests on the docket every day they spend a considerable amount of time there. At any given moment you may be twenty feet from the floor action, ten feet from a bench, just down the row from your team’s head coach, and sitting right next to a player you recognize from years gone by.

In this atmosphere you start to see some of the inside quirks of the NBA culture. Certain rituals, like the obligatory handshake and back pat between acquaintances — not the standard handshake but the arm-wrestling grip variety — become familiar. Some players and commentators are greeted by nearly everyone they meet... the social butterflies of the league. Others — usually scowling coaches and general managers — are given a wide berth. Conversations abound... some open, others clandestine. Obviously all of this social interaction makes for truly amazing NBA-level people-watching. To give you some of the social flavor of the summer league, we’re going to introduce you to some of the characters you’ll meet here.

THE PLAYERS

Summer league players come in multiple varieties. These include:

The Returning "Veterans"

"Veteran" is in quotes here because it’s a relative term. Very few NBA Summer League participants are beyond their third year in the league. Nevertheless, these guys have been here before and they know what’s what. They’ve seen NBA playing time. They might be as high as the 9th or 10th man on their big league squads. They are here to lead the team, to run the drills, and to make all the newbies from the other teams look silly. They walk around with an air of confidence. This experience probably won’t make or break them. They have nothing to lose and might even improve their spot by being here.

The First Two Draft Picks

This year Greg Oden and Kevin Durant need a category all their own. Their NBA Summer League experience is quantifiably different than anyone else’s. They are the "AND" players, meaning everyone who buys a ticket is saying, "I came to see my team AND these two guys." All eyes are upon them the moment they take the court. They cannot linger on the sidelines, nor sit in the stands, nor even stand in a huddle off-stage unless they are surrounded by a barrier of teammates. Otherwise cameras and microphones will be shoved in their face and questions shouted until Doomsday. Every step is scrutinized and analyzed. They walk around with a grim, maybe even tortured expression. Their stride is confident, but you can see that they feel the pressure, both on and off the court. Every drop step feels like the end of the world and it shows in their play. This ain’t the playground back home, or even college. Welcome to the spotlight.

The Rest of the First Rounders

Picks three through thirty are having a different summer league experience from their famous counterparts in Portland and Seattle. There’s pressure with these guys, but it’s limited. Unless they put on a great show, only fans of their own teams care about their performance. They’ll probably only be interviewed by their own team’s media crew and that crew will be invested in making them look good (and the team look smart) no matter what happens. They have a three-year guaranteed contract in pocket and management will cover any mistakes they make with the eternal mantra "be patient." Of course they’re playing hard. They want to show they belong and nobody makes the NBA without an ego and the drive to win. But, they’re in the sweet spot of NBA Summer League and after the nerves of the initial game the tension fades and they start resembling their veteran counterparts. The play is freewheeling and confident. It looks like fun out there.