Winning a national championship is supposed to be the highlight of a college career. For three former Michigan Wolverines, it turned out to be the opening act. Two months after cutting down the nets in April, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara heard their names called within a four-pick stretch of the NBA Draft lottery — and now they're getting their first extended look at pro basketball together, and against each other, at Summer League in Las Vegas.

It's a rare cluster for one program to produce in a single year, and it comes with built-in storylines: a college teammate turned coach who followed one of them to his new team, an in-conference rivalry that's carried straight into the pros, and three very different early results as each player adjusts to a faster, more physical game. With Summer League running through July 19, there's still time for the story to shift. But the first several games have already given fans plenty to chew on.

A Historic Draft Night

Michigan hadn't sent three players into the first round since 1990, when Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught, and Terry Mills came off the Wolverines' own national title team. This year's trio matched that feat and then some, landing in the top 12 of a single draft class:

Player	College Path	Draft Slot	NBA Team
Morez Johnson Jr.	Illinois → Michigan	No. 9	Dallas Mavericks
Yaxel Lendeborg	Arizona Western → UAB → Michigan	No. 11	Golden State Warriors
Aday Mara	UCLA → Michigan	No. 12	Oklahoma City Thunder

Each path to that draft night looked different. Johnson spent one season at Illinois before transferring in and becoming a defensive menace in the paint. Lendeborg's route ran through junior college and a stop at UAB before a dominant lone season in Ann Arbor made him the Big Ten Player of the Year. Mara arrived from UCLA as a 7-foot-3 project and left as one of the most productive shot-blockers in the country.

Meanwhile, Michigan head coach Dusty May left for the Mavericks' head-coaching job just before the draft, and Dallas turned around and used its own first-round pick to bring one of his former players with him. It made Johnson's selection a mild surprise on draft night — most mock drafts had him going several picks later — but it also set up an obvious storyline for Summer League: Johnson playing for the coach who developed him, with two of his former teammates as measuring sticks.

Vegas by the Numbers

Two weeks isn't enough to make a final judgment on anyone's career, but it is enough to establish an early shape. Here's where each player stands through their first several Summer League outings:

Player	Best Game So Far	Line
Morez Johnson Jr.	vs. Golden State (7/9)	27 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk on 12-of-17 shooting
Yaxel Lendeborg	vs. Dallas (7/9)	21 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast on 8-of-13 shooting
Aday Mara	vs. Golden State (7/12)	10 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk on 4-of-6 shooting

Johnson: The Loudest Debut, a Quieter Follow-Up

Johnson wasted no time answering the doubters. In the very first game of Las Vegas Summer League, his Mavericks ran into Lendeborg's Warriors, and Johnson delivered a game-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, adding 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in a losing effort.¹ It was about as strong a response as a rookie could give to the range of mock-draft projections that had him going anywhere from 13th to 18th overall.

His follow-up two nights later, in a loss to the Lakers, looked completely different on the stat sheet — 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting — but the defensive activity carried over, with a game-high four blocks and two steals in 28 minutes despite foul trouble.² Between the two performances, a clear identity has emerged: an undersized big man who affects winning through motor and defense first, with scoring as a bonus rather than a guarantee.

Lendeborg: The Steadiest of the Three

If Johnson has provided the highlight-reel moments, Lendeborg has provided the most complete two-way performances of the group so far. His Summer League opener was a near-flawless double-double — 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists on 8-of-13 shooting — and he's been part of early conversations about the tournament's most valuable players.³ A second game against Mara and the Thunder was rougher shooting-wise (5-of-14 from the field) but still produced 14 points, 3 steals, and 4 made threes in a Warriors win.⁴

By his own admission, Lendeborg isn't fully in playing shape yet, citing a longer-than-expected offseason layoff.⁵ That he's still outproducing most of the field while working his way into form says something about how ready his game already is for the speed of the league.

Mara: The Bumpiest Adjustment, With Real Flashes

Mara's path has been the most uneven of the three, which tracks with him being the youngest and most physically unfinished of the group. His two Salt Lake City debuts were promising — 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in his first outing, followed by a 10-point, 9-rebound game with 4 blocks against Atlanta.⁶ Then came a rough outing against the Lakers, where he scored just 2 points in 25 minutes and looked hesitant to shoot even when open looks were available.⁷

He rebounded from that with his best all-around game yet against the Warriors and Lendeborg: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block, narrowly missing a double-double.⁸ The turnovers have been a real issue — he entered that game having committed 11 in his first three appearances against just 6 assists — but scouts have generally been more patient with a 7-foot-3 center who's still adding strength than they might be with a smaller player struggling in the same way.⁹

A Bonus Wolverine in the Mix

The Michigan pipeline in Las Vegas isn't limited to this year's draft class. Kobe Bufkin, a 2023 first-round pick recently waived by the Lakers, landed on the Pelicans' Summer League roster and used the opportunity to make his own statement — dropping 30 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three in one appearance.¹⁰ It's a reminder that Ann Arbor's NBA pipeline runs well beyond a single draft class, and that this year's Vegas roster of Wolverines is deeper than three names.

What to Watch Next

With a week of Summer League still to play, each of these three stories has room to develop further. Johnson's next test comes against a loaded Memphis frontcourt led by No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer, a matchup Dallas has already circled as one of the tougher challenges left on the schedule.¹¹ Lendeborg will look to translate his early efficiency into a deeper playoff run for a Warriors team that's off to a strong start. And Mara's Thunder will keep searching for the version of him that flashed in Salt Lake City rather than the one who struggled against the Lakers.

Three players, three franchises, one shared origin story — and, for at least one more week, three separate chances to prove that a championship team in Ann Arbor can become three legitimate NBA contributors in the pros.

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