For many years, the OKC Thunder did not participate in the Las Vegas Summer League, instead opting for the less flashy; Orlando Summer League. Beginning in 2018, the NBA discontinued the Orlando Summer League. Thus all 30 teams began competing in Las Vegas. The NBA also conducts scaled down versions of Summer League in Sacramento and Utah.
New to Summer League this year will be the addition of two national teams, in China and Croatia. According to ESPN, this will be the second time China competes in Summer League, with the first instance occurring in 2007, whereas; 2019 will mark the first time Croatia will participate in the Summer League.