Santiago Vescovi joins Golden State Warriors for NBA Summer League

Santiago Vescovi is the third former Volunteer to get his shot with a team in the NBA.

The Golden State Warriors released their roster for the NBA Summer League on Sunday. Amongst the 17-man team was Vescovi as he will play with the Dubs in the California Classic in Sacramento and San Francisco as well as the NBA2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas throughout July.

Vescovi joins Dalton Knecht and Josiah-Jordan James in making it to the pros over this week. Knecht was the most notable of the trio as he was the No. 17 pick during the 2024 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, which has already been labeled as one of the more significant selections. As for James, he reportedly signed with the Indiana Pacers on an Exhibit-10 deal on Friday.

Vescovi played for Tennessee for five seasons. In that time on Rocky Top, he set a program record for starts with 128, which he did over the course of 149 appearances that are second-most all time behind John Fulkeron and Allan Houston. He averaged 10.3 points, four rebounds, three assists, and 1.4 steals in that collegiate career in Knoxville.

Vescovi was a do-it-all kind of player for the Volunteers. He was the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, and 150 steals. He also set the school record with his 212 steals. Those all helped to result in 106 wins for Tennessee. That includes a pair of conference titles and a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight over four NCAA Tournaments.

Vescovi joined their program as a native of Montevideo, Uruguay. He reached these levels through the international route with stops at several NBA Academy’s like in Australia and Mexico City.

Golden State is one of a few teams who play in more than one event in the summer. The California Classic features them and the Lakers, which means an eventual reunion between Vescovi and Knecht. It’ll also include Miami, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Sacramento as well as a team from China. They’ll all then join the rest of the league in Sin City.

Vescovi became beloved over his time as a Volunteer. He’ll now take the next step in his career with him getting his chance with Golden State.

More on James signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pacers

Josiah-Jordan James has signed as an undrafted free agent with the Indiana Pacers.

James signed an Exhibit 10 contract following the draft, which gives him the chance to play in the summer league. That gives him the opportunity to earn a two-way contract.

James, in 144 career games at Tennessee over the last five seasons, averaged 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He made 123 starts and averaged 28.2 minutes per game.

“James looks the part as a pro player,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo wrote, “His ability to use his frame to slide between the forward spots defensively is appealing. On the offensive end, he’ll occasionally put it all together in impressive fashion — sometimes even in important games — but then disappear for weeks at a time.”

“He doesn’t have a strong skill he can hang his hat on yet. It’s possible a change of scenery will do him some good, as he does play like an NBA player when he is being aggressive.”