Riley Kugel and Themus Fulks navigated limited minutes in their Clippers debut, battling for rotation spots before Sunday's high-stakes matchup against the Utah Jazz in Las Vegas.
It had been some time since a UCF Knight represented a team at the NBA Summer League, dating back to Taylor Hendricks in 2023.
However, this year, the backcourt duo of Riley Kugel and Themus Fulks have been given the opportunity to play with the Los Angeles Clippers in Las Vegas, with the team taking the floor for the first time late Thursday night.
It was a quiet debut for the two Knights, as Kugel played just four minutes and Fulks failed to touch the floor.
With No. 5 overall pick Keaton Wagler and more-experienced guards like Kobe Sanders, Sean Pedulla and Cam Christie on the roster, it may be difficult to find minutes.
But, despite the limited opportunity, Kugel made his mark, making his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.
Kugel subbed in during the second quarter and found himself open for a wing triple, confidently stepping up and knocking it down.
This is nothing new for Knights fans, as Kugel was UCF's top scorer (14.4 PPG) last season and frequently posted big nights from distance.
With head coach Johnny Dawkins bringing in a completely new team last season, Kugel was his most highly-touted recruit, grading in as a 4-star transfer, according to 247 Sports.
He burst onto the scene for the Knights against Vanderbilt early in non-conference play. Kugel scored 25 points, shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range. This was the second game of a seven-game streak of Kugel scoring 12 or more points.
This offseason, Kugel earned an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT), where he, posted a strong showing in game 1 for his team, Jani-King, notching 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range in a 97-92 victory.
Fulks, on the other hand, was one of the best facilitators in the country last season.
For a Clippers team that shot just 33-percent from the field and recorded 13 assists to 17 turnovers, utilizing Fulks in the next game may become more likely.
Fulks averaged 14 points, 6.7 assists and 3 rebounds, shooting a team-high 46.2% from the field in his lone season with the Knights.
For his play, Fulks earned Third-Team All-Big 12 Honors, marking the first time a Knight has found their way onto an Big 12 All-Conference Team. He also was named to the Big 12 Starting Five three times throughout the season, providing consistent playmaking and efficient scoring to head coach Johnny Dawkins and the Knights.
The duo will be back in action Sunday night, July 12, at 10:00 p.m. against No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz.
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