Four Johnnies to Compete in 2025 NBA Summer League

QUEENS, N.Y. – Four standouts from the 2024-25 BIG EAST Champion St. John's men's basketball team will compete in the 2025 NBA Summer League that officially begins today.

RJ Luis Jr. (Utah Jazz), Kadary Richmond (Washington Wizards), Aaron Scott (Boston Celtics) and Deivon Smith (Atlanta Hawks) have all signed to compete in NBA 2K26 Summer League throughout July.

Luis is part of a Jazz squad that will kick-off the summer league action in Salt Lake City with three contests between July 5-8. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year and All-American will suit up for Utah tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Luis and his three former teammates are also set to compete for their respective teams in Las Vegas from July 10-20.

Luis reached an agreement for a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz for the 2025-26 season that will allow him to compete at the NBA-level and the team's G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.

During his junior campaign, the Miami native blossomed into one of the nation's top collegiate players becoming the first consensus All-American at St. John's since Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly Ron Artest in 1999. Luis earned All-America honors from all four major organizations used to determine consensus All-Americans in aggregate, including a second team designation from the Associated Press (AP), U.S. Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Luis played an integral role in guiding the Red Storm to its best season in decades as St. John's captured both BIG EAST Tournament and Regular Season titles. The junior averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, both marks ranked top-six in the BIG EAST. He tied for the conference-lead in double-doubles with 10 alongside teammate Zuby Ejiofor and delivered 14 20-plus point performances as the Red Storm finished the 2024-25 with a 31-5 overall record.

In his first season in Queens, Luis Jr. posted 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over 23 appearances despite battling nagging injuries as a sophomore in 2023-24.

Luis began his collegiate career at UMass, where he was an All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team honoree and averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 78.9% from the charity stripe for the Minutemen in 2022-23.

Richmond, the Red Storm's veteran point guard and an All-BIG EAST selection, signed a two-way deal with the Washington Wizards.

The Brooklyn native shined for St. John's in his final year of collegiate eligibility, starting 35 of 36 contests at the point guard position for the BIG EAST Champions. The graduate student averaged 12.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals and was named an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree.

Richmond finished the year with 28 double-figure scoring performances, six double-doubles and one triple-double. He logged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds during BIG EAST competition.

The floor general orchestrated the Johnnies' offensive attack, dishing out 191 total assists, which ranked fifth-most in St. John's men's basketball history. Richmond ranked second in the conference and top-20 in NCAA Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.7. On the defensive end, he made 72 steals, which ranked 20^th nationally and ninth-most for a single-season in program history.

On March 8, Richmond etched his name in the history books recording the first triple-double by a St. John's player since Metta Sandiford Artest, formerly Ron Artest, on Jan. 18, 1999. He posted a 10-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double, the program's first in the 21^st century in an overtime victory at then-No. 20/20 Marquette.

Prior to arriving in Queens, Richmond spent three years at Seton Hall, where he was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection and NIT Champion in 2023-24. He began his college career at Syracuse where he played in 28 contests for the Orange in 2020-21.

Scott will suit up in Las Vegas for the Boston Celtics, after signing a summer league contract with the 18-time World Champions.

The Spring, Texas native proved to be an unsung hero for the Red Storm during the 2024-25 campaign. Scott appeared in all 36 contests, making 30 starts and averaged 27.2 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

The versatile wing earned All-MET Honorable Mention recognition and led the Johnnies in 3-pointers (51) and free throw shooting percentage (81.0%). Scott ranked among the leaders in the league checking in at ninth in steals per game (1.4) and 11^th in offensive rebounds per contests (1.9).

Scott made the starting five in 102 of his final 108 contests of his collegiate career. He arrived in Queens after three seasons at North Texas from 2022-24. While with the Mean Green, he averaged 7.4 points and 5.1 boards per game.

Smith inked a summer league deal with his hometown team as the Decatur, Ga., native will compete for the Atlanta Hawks.

An electrifying point guard, Smith provided a boost to the team in his lone year with Johnnies, appearing in 30 contests while making 17 starts. He logged 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Smith was named an All-MET Honorable Mention selection and ranked top-11 in the BIG EAST in assist-to-turnover ratio (6th at 2.4), assists per game (9th at 3.9) and steals per game (11th at 1.43).

Prior to St. John's, Smith set a PAC-12 record with five triple-doubles at Utah in 2023-24. He previously had stints at Georgia Tech (2021-23) and Mississippi State (2020-21). Smith finished his collegiate career with 1,152 points, 657 rebounds, 548 assists and 151 steals.

To view the full summer league schedule and check TV listings, visit their website.

St. John's University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Zuby Ejiofor

RJ Luis Jr.

Kadary Richmond

Aaron Scott

Deivon Smith

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