The 2025-26 NBA season is less than two weeks old, but we’re already seeing some things (good and bad) that have caught us off guard and differ from what we expected in the offseason.
Who knows whether these early surprises will continue to, well, surprise. But a few games are a big enough sample size for three members of The Athletic NBA staff to highlight these eye-openers and discuss what they may mean going forward.
Which Eastern Conference team has surprised you the most so far?
Zach Harper: The Philadelphia 76ers are 4-0! Paul George hasn’t played yet. Joel Embiid is on a minutes restriction and grumpy about it. And yet, the Sixers have not been stopped. I don’t think you can dismiss their success because of the schedule either. Boston is still dangerous, and the Sixers charged back to beat them. Orlando was the consensus third-best team in the East coming into the season, and the Sixers lit them up without a ton of resistance.
I went into this season wondering if Nick Nurse would make it through November. But the Sixers have shown a resilience that wasn’t there last season. They’ve gone with a super quick backcourt, and the results are huge. Tyrese Maxey can’t be stopped right now and VJ Edgecombe already looks like a no-doubt hit in last June’s draft by the Sixers at three. Stacking up wins right now will help them, at minimum, be a Play-In Tournament team. And the way they’re looking, the Sixers are shooting for higher goals.
Law Murray: The Orlando Magic are big disappointments right now for two reasons — one you’d expect and one you wouldn’t. You expect the Magic to be poor shooting the basketball, but for it to be the case again is just sad. Desmond Bane is sub-30 percent from 3. What kind of dark magic happens when you put on that uniform? But look, even if the Magic weren’t dead last in 3-point volume (again), the defense is a big concern. Orlando had the best defense outside of Oklahoma City last season. Through Tuesday’s games, they’re wallowing at 16th. They cannot be special team with an average defense.
Hunter Patterson: The Chicago Bulls by a long shot. I’d be lying if I said I expected them to be this competitive this early. They trail only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs for the best defensive rating in the NBA and are limiting opposing teams to 25.9 percent from 3-point range.
Nikola Vučević is still a double-double machine. Josh Giddey looks worth the $100 million offseason extension he inked. Tre Jones may have taken the torch from his older brother, Tyus, as the best of the siblings in the association. Plus Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter and Matas Buzelis round out Chicago’s double-figure scorers. Let’s see if Billy Donovan and the Bulls can sustain this level of cohesion for more than the first handful of games.
Which Eastern Conference player has surprised you the most so far?
Harper: Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is one of the most popular players on the internet, but he’s also mostly played meaningless basketball in his career. Some of this is because he can’t stay healthy, but even when he is on the floor, I find myself being maddened by his decision-making. Kenny Smith once gave a critique of a young J.R. Smith when the guard was early in his career. He talked about how Smith played for the highlight too often instead of making the correct play.
Ball fits that description for his career so far. He can do spectacular things with the basketball, and he has a ton of flair and joy to his game. But it often feels like he could be making better decisions on both ends. He seems to be doing that a lot more, but I want to see it endure all season. I also want to see him stay healthy.
LaMelo Ball looks to make a move as Heat forward Andrew Wiggins defends. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Murray: I love the way Kyshawn George has started the season in Washington, and I’m not sure he should go to the bench with Bilal Coulibaly scheduled to return Thursday against the Thunder. George has dropped at least 20 points in three of the first four games of the season, highlighted by a career-high 34 points in Dallas. He had the profile of a shooter coming out of Miami but averaged just 7.6 points in college and 8.7 points last season as a rookie. He looks really good understanding where his shots should come from and making those shots, while also leading the Wizards in assists (5.0 per game). George also makes plays on defense, as he has five steals and six blocks while leading Washington in rebounds with 9.3 per game. All of this has come while making 53.7 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3.
Patterson: Joel Embiid is on a minutes restriction and Paul George has yet to play, but Tyrese Maxey looks primed for an All-NBA selection. As of Wednesday afternoon, he’s leading the league in scoring, averaging 37.5 points per game on 45.5/47.4/87 shooting splits. Maxey was named the Most Improved Player in 2023-24, so he’s been on this trajectory for some time now, but he’s making a case to become the 76ers’ first option.
Those numbers will be extremely difficult to maintain at that efficiency, but the 24-year-old guard has been scorching to start the season. The Sixers haven’t had the most challenging schedule to start the year, but that’s not on Maxey. He’s quite clearly ready for the proverbial next step.
Which Western Conference team has surprised you the most so far?
Harper: The Spurs being 4-0 isn’t totally surprising, considering their schedule so far. Beating Dallas, New Orleans, Brooklyn and Toronto is very doable, although Victor Wembanyama was shocked to hear that the Spurs, as great as they’ve been as a franchise, have never started 5-0. They’re outscoring their opponents by 15.6 points per 100 possessions, and that’s including a close overtime win.
Every other game has been very controlled and a double-digit win. That won’t keep up as their schedule gets tougher, but a young team showing signs of taking care of business is very encouraging.
Murray: The Utah Jazz were the NBA’s worst team last season, and their roster suggested that they were interested in one more crack at a premium draft pick that could close the rebuilding phase that they are in. But then they decided to demolish the LA Clippers to begin their season. The Jazz have gotten tremendous starts from Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Head coach Will Hardy had his contract extended for a reason: He can whip up schemes to get his players free. A few more weeks of top-five offensive output, and timelines might need to be adjusted in Utah.
Patterson: We knew the Spurs would be fun to watch, primarily because Victor Wembanyama produces his own highlight reel anytime he steps on the hardwood. What I’m not sure anyone predicted outside of San Antonio was the Spurs owning the league’s best net rating (15.6) and point differential (16.5).
As Zach alluded to, they haven’t faced the stiffest competition, but San Antonio looks amazing through its first four. Mitch Johnson has encouraged his team to “dismantle” opponents in the half court and embrace the “mundane.” His message has resonated. I expected the Spurs to at best become a middle-of-the-pack squad in the West, but they’re already building winning habits and have yet to unleash De’Aaron Fox.
Which Western Conference player has surprised you the most so far?
Harper: Something has clicked with Jonathan Kuminga. I don’t know if the contract situation changed him or he’s trying to show other teams they should want him in the future. Or maybe he’s just finally comfortable in this Golden State Warriors system. Forget the numbers he’s putting up, although 16.2 points on 53.7/43.8/76.2 is an impressive and efficient start. The decision-making on the floor has shone.
He’s making the right play for the team, not just the right play for him. Steve Kerr was so frustrated with those decisions the last couple of years, and now Kuminga looks like he understands their system inside and out. This is how you stay on the floor and keep getting minutes. If it keeps up, it’s just another aspect that makes the Warriors dangerous.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga puts home an easy two points against the Grizzlies. (Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)
Murray: It’s Jrue Holiday for me. Perhaps I was too used to the Boston Celtics guard who was happy to let all of his co-starters touch the ball more than he did. I wasn’t thinking about Holiday as anything close to a difference-maker in Portland’s offense, but Holiday has combined his rare brand of cerebral-yet-disruptive defense with owning his space as a true point guard for the Trail Blazers. The 35-year-old, two-time NBA champion had 11 assists in a blowout win against the Warriors, and he scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games in Southern California, punctuated by a 24-point performance to help beat the Lakers on zero days’ rest. Against Utah on Wednesday, Holiday put up 27 points to go with eight assists. Portland’s offense hasn’t been good in years, yet it has been acceptable to begin the season under Holiday’s steady hand.
Patterson: Austin Reaves has been a bucket for some years now, but anytime you follow up a career-high 51-point night with 41 a day later, you earn a new level of respect from me. Though he wasn’t able to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win on the second night of that back-to-back, Reaves is still in the midst of an incredible start.
He added to that with a buzzer-beater Wednesday night in Minnesota to secure the Lakers’ 116-115 win. The Arkansas native is averaging 34.2 points, 10.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. That’s absurd. His numbers will recalibrate once Dončić and LeBron James are back, but Reaves has been on a heater to start the year.
What’s one early-season surprise you don’t expect to continue (that you didn’t mention in the questions above)?
Harper: As Law alluded to, the Magic have been getting lit up in the first few games because they simply can’t stop quick guards. That isn’t Magic basketball. Maybe they’re too focused on the offensive end of the floor getting better (which it hasn’t yet, by the way) and just assume their defensive identity will be there. But they’re allowing too much in the paint. We don’t tend to see that from them, and I’d expect them to iron that out pretty quickly.
Murray: The Charlotte Hornets have a top-five offense right now, scoring at least 117 points in each of their first four games. I do not believe that holds up after they were 29th in offensive efficiency last season. It would be nice if it does, as Ball is capable of driving fun results. But I’m concerned about Brandon Miller’s shoulder, and Ball has to show that he is going to stay on the floor as well. When Ball is on the floor, Charlotte averages 124.9 points per 100 possessions. That drops to 106.5 points per 100 possessions when he is off the floor.
Patterson: I expect the Houston Rockets to pull together defensively based on the amount of length and athleticism they have on the floor. Alperen Şengün is their only starter who’s a plus in the defensive box plus-minus category entering Wednesday. The Rockets have a 125.2 offensive rating, and while they’re still looking to fill the void Fred VanVleet left at point guard, the talent is there offensively.
It took the Thunder two overtime periods to put Houston away in the season opener. Then the Detroit Pistons outlasted the Rockets down the stretch in their home opener. Houston lost both games by a combined five points. Couple Ime Udoka’s creativity with the amount of length and skill on their roster, and I see the Rockets being just fine after their 2-2 start.
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