The best player on the floor in the Clippers' 128-120 overtime win over the Timberwolves wasn't the No. 5 overall pick. It was the undrafted guy on a two-way deal.
His name is Sean Pedulla, and what he did in the final two minutes should catch a few front offices' attention.
First, some context so nobody oversells this. This was the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, played Friday, July 17 at the Thomas & Mack Center, in the consolation bracket, the last game of the summer for both teams. No banner comes from this. The Lakers, Rockets, Grizzlies and Warriors were the ones playing for the actual tournament title. Don't treat this as a verdict on anyone's ceiling. Treat it as a showcase, and in a showcase, you find out who actually shows up.
Pedulla showed up.
The turning point had a name
The Clippers built a lead of as many as 27 points in the third quarter, then nearly blew the whole thing. Minnesota went nuclear, hanging 40-plus in the fourth quarter to tie it at 115-115 and force overtime. Jaylin Williams was a problem off the bench all night: 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, five threes. Nate Santos, who'd started the game 0-for-3, scored 13 in the fourth, including back-to-back four-point plays. That kind of run wins most Summer League games.
It didn't win this one, because the two-minute overtime belonged to Pedulla.
He scored nine of the Clippers' 13 points in overtime, two triples and a tough lefty and-one sandwiched between them, and quietly erased everything Minnesota had just built. He finished with 24 points, a game-high 11 assists and six steals. That's not a scorer padding his line late. That's a point guard steering a team through the exact stretch where a young roster usually cracks.
Wagler's night was good. Pedulla's was better.
Keaton Wagler was fine. Better than fine. He led all scorers with 26 points, reportedly his most aggressive showing all summer after some early "bust" chatter. Good for him. That's what you want from a lottery pick answering back.
But points in a chaotic, 13-lead-change track meet (eight ties, 13 lead changes, the Clippers shooting 55% and winning the paint 56-36) come cheaper than the plays Pedulla made while Minnesota was pouring it on. Anyone can score when the game's flowing. Pedulla scored when the game was screaming.
Here's why it matters beyond the box score: Pedulla was the 2025-26 Kia NBA G League Rookie of the Year, signed to a two-way deal in February, with a handful of NBA appearances already to his name. Fittingly, his NBA debut came against these same Timberwolves. He's the kind of player teams talk themselves out of on draft night and then can't live without by April. My guess is he plays his way into real minutes.
The Clippers also put up 128 points, a Summer League single-game scoring record, per NBA.com. Nice trivia. But the record isn't the story. The undrafted kid closing out a lottery pick's own showcase game is the story.
Believe the two-way guys. They keep telling you who they are.
