University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Represented in 2019 NBA Summer League
June 30, 2019 | Men's Basketball
The UCLA men's basketball program will be represented by at least seven former players in the upcoming NBA Summer League, which takes place from July 1-3 in Sacramento and Salt Lake City and from July 5-15 in Las Vegas.
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Moses Brown (Houston Rockets), Jaylen Hands (Brooklyn Nets), Aaron Holiday (Indiana Pacers), David Wear (Los Angeles Lakers),ย Travis Wear (Golden State Warriors), Thomas Welsh (Denver Nuggets) and Kris Wilkes (New York Knicks) will be in action, starting as early as Monday, July 1.
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Travis Wear will be the only former UCLA player in action at the California Classic, with games set to take place in Sacramento (Golden 1 Center) from July 1-3. The other six former UCLA players will get their schedules underway in Las Vegas, with action in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League scheduled from July 5-15. Games in Las Vegas will take place at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center and at Cox Pavilion, a multi-purpose venue that is connected to Thomas & Mack Center.
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Holiday, Welsh, Travis Wear and David Wear will make return visits to the NBA Summer League. Holiday, Welsh and Travis Wear each competed in the NBA last season (Holiday with Indiana, Travis Wear with the L.A. Lakers, and Welsh with Denver). Brown, Hands and Wilkes all played for the Bruins in 2018-19 and will be playing in their first professional games in the upcoming NBA Summer League games.
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Moses Brown
Years at UCLA: 2018-19
NBA Team: Houston Rockets
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Brown, a 7-foot-1 center from Queens, N.Y., averaged 9.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as a freshman for UCLA last season. He has inked a contract to play for the Houston Rockets in the NBA Summer League. Brown played in 32 of the Bruins' 33 games last season, making 31 starts. He was one of five players named to the Pac-12 Conference's All-Freshman Team, and he also secured honorable mention status on the league's All-Defensive Team. Brown finished his freshman campaign with a team-leading nine double-doubles. He ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.3 rpg), was No. 3 in field goal percentage (.607) and was No. 4 in blocked shots per game (1.9).
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Jaylen Hands
Years at UCLA: 2017-19
NBA Team: Brooklyn Nets
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Hands was selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft (as the No. 56 overall selection) after two seasons at UCLA. He secured second-team All-Pac-12 honors as a sophomore in 2018-19, having averaged 14.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and a league-best 6.1 assists per game. Hands shot 41.3 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from 3-point territory. Hailing from nearby San Diego, Hands scored in double figures in 26 of 33 games, and he recorded at least 10 assists in six games. Hands finished his sophomore season with five double-doubles (four of the point-assist variety). He led UCLA in free throw percentage (.780) and steals (44) and was second on the team in total shots made (158), 3-pointers made (66) and free throws made (85). Hands ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (1.9) and was No. 10 in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.0).
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Aaron Holiday
Years at UCLA: 2015-18
NBA Team: Indiana Pacers
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Holiday returns to the NBA Summer League after having been selected in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft (as the No. 23 overall pick by Indiana). A three-year letterwinner at UCLA (2015-18), Holiday averaged 5.9 points and 1.3 rebounds last season for the Indiana Pacers. The 6-foot-1 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., played in 50 games for Indiana during his rookie season. During his junior season at UCLA (2017-18), Holiday registered a Pac-12-leading 20.3 points per game. He finished the year with a team-best 5.8 assists per game and also grabbed 3.7 rebounds per game. Holiday was a first-team All-Pac-12 performer as a junior and was one of five players selected to the conference's All-Defensive Team. In addition, Holiday secured third-team All-America honors from Sporting News. During his junior season at UCLA, Holiday became the Bruins' first player to average at least 20 points per game in a full season since Ed O'Bannon tallied 20.4 points per game in 1994-95. He scored in double figures in 32 of the Bruins' 33 games before becoming a first-round NBA Draft pick.
David Wear
Years at UCLA: 2010-14
NBA Team: Los Angeles Lakers
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David Wear briefly played in the NBA during the 2014-15 season (with the Sacrmento Kings) and most recently competed this spring for the Sydney Kings in Australia (within the National Basketball League). A three-year letterwinner for the Bruins from 2011-14, Wear registered 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, competing in 103 contests at UCLA (76 starts). Through three seasons on the floor, Wear tallied 809 points and 515 rebounds. Along with his twin brother Travis, David transferred to UCLA after his freshman season at North Carolina (2009-10). While at UCLA, he helped lead the Bruins to two NCAA Tournaments and one Sweet 16 in 2014. The Bruins went 28-9 during his senior year (2013-14), winning the Pac-12 Tournament and finishing second in the league standings.
Travis Wear
Years at UCLA: 2010-14
NBA Team: Golden State Warriors
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Travis Wear has spent portions of two seasons in the NBA (2014-15 New York Knicks, 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers). He will compete for the Golden State Warriors in the upcoming NBA Summer League. Most recently, Wear averaged 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 39 games (37 starts) for the South Bay Lakers of the G-League during the 2018-19 season. A three-year letterwinner for the Bruins (2011-14) who went undrafted in 2014, Wear averaged 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in 17 contests for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017-18. Wear transferred to UCLA after his freshman season at North Carolina (2009-10) along with his twin brother, David. He played in 96 games for UCLA, making 83 starts, from 2011-14, ultimately helping the Bruins win the Pac-12 regular-season title in 2013 and the Pac-12 Tournament championship in 2014. While at UCLA, he played in two NCAA Tournaments, including the Sweet 16 in 2014. Wear averaged 9.8 points and 4.7 assists per game in 96 contests at UCLA.
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Thomas Welsh
Years at UCLA: 2014-18
NBA Team: Denver Nuggets
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Welsh, a 7-foot center from Redondo Beach, Calif., played as a rookie for the Denver Nuggets in 2018-19 and also competed in the NBA's G-League. Last season, Welsh saw action in 11 games for Denver and in 20 games in the G-League. He averaged 10.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in 20 G-League games (12 starts), shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from 3-point territory (he made 15 of 31 attempts from 3-point range). He was a four-year letterwinner at UCLA (2014-18), helping lead the Bruins to three NCAA Tournament apperances and trips to the Sweet 16 in 2015 and 2017. As a senior in 2017-18, Welsh averaged 12.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, starting all 33 contests. He recorded UCLA's highest rebounding average since David Greenwood logged 11.4 rebounds per game in 1977-78. Through four years in college, Welsh averaged 9.5 points and 7.8 rebounds (132 games). He concluded his UCLA career as the program's No. 3 all-time leader in career rebounds (1,035). He registered 37 career double-doubles at UCLA, tied as the sixth-highest total in program history. Welsh was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection as a senior, also earning honorable mention status on the league's All-Academic Team.
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Kris Wilkes
Years at UCLA: 2017-19
NBA Team: New York Knicks
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Wilkes excelled for UCLA the past two seasons, having averaged 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds through 66 career games (65 starts). Most recently, Wilkes inked a two-way contract with the New York Knicks and will make his professional debut in the NBA Summer League. As a sophomore at UCLA in 2018-19, he led the Bruins in scoring (17.4 ppg) and also tallied 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection as a sophomore, having shot 43.3 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. He ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 in 3-pointers made per game and finished the season as the league's fourth-leading scorer. Through his two seasons in college, Wilkes scored in double figures in 44 games and reached the 20-point plateau in 17 contests. He became the 57th player in school history to cross the 1,000 career point benchmark (accomplishing that feat in his second-to-final college game).
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