Jun. 25—One week after getting the green light to compete in the NBA from the league's fitness-to-play panel, Gonzaga's Tyon Grant-Foster has accepted a Summer League invitation from one of the NBA's top franchises.
Grant-Foster agreed to join the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs at Las Vegas Summer League, Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress reported Thursday.
The Summer League showcase runs July 9-19, with games taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion on UNLV's campus.
The 26-year-old wing becomes the second member of Gonzaga's 2025-26 roster to reach an agreement with an NBA team, joining the Spurs one day after teammate Graham Ike inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the Golden State Warriors .
Grant-Foster was able to land a Summer League deal despite missing much of the pre-draft process due to ongoing concerns about his medical history. The 6-foot-7 wing previously had not been cleared and was deemed "medically unfit" after his heart defibrillator was activated on multiple occasions during a two-year stint at Grand Canyon.
The defibrillator was installed when Grant-Foster, who deals with a heart condition known as arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, underwent two separate cardiac arrest incidents after joining DePaul's roster in 2021-22.
Despite the medical setbacks, Grant-Foster has been on the NBA's radar for years and received multiple letters of support from general managers when he filed a lawsuit against the NCAA after the sport's governing body denied his eligibility waiver last summer.
Grant-Foster was cleared to play at Gonzaga after receiving a preliminary injunction in Spokane County Court and played in all 35 games for Mark Few's team, primarily coming off the bench.
The veteran wing averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for the Zags, supplying defense and athleticism for a team that won a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season championship and captured the WCC Tournament title.Grant-Foster played a key role in two of GU's wins over WCC runner-up Santa Clara, scoring 20 points both in a Feb. 14 road win over the Broncos and in the Zags' 79-68 victory in the conference title game.
Coming off an NBA Finals appearance, San Antonio is still in the process of building its Summer League team, but the roster is expected to include the Spurs' four draft picks: Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance (No. 20 overall), UConn center Tarris Reed (No. 26), Tennessee guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (No. 42) and Duke forward Maliq Brown (No. 44).
Other Gonzaga players such as wing Jalen Warley and guard Adam Miller could be in the mix to sign undrafted free-agent deals or receive Summer League deals in the coming days.
Former Gonzaga wing Michael Ajayi, who spent one season in Spokane during the 2024-25 season between stops at Pepperdine and Butler, agreed to a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets late Wednesday night after the second round of the NBA draft concluded. Ajayi excelled last season at Butler, averaging a double-double of 16.4 ppg and 11.1 rpg while setting the Bulldogs' single-season rebounding record and earning All-Big East honors.
