play1:18Why Stephen A. needs to see more from Anthony DavisStephen A. Smith calls on Anthony Davis to step up for the Mavericks after their loss to the Spurs.
play1:15Stephen A.: Keep your eyes on the Warriors in the WestStephen A. Smith explains why he has been impressed by the Warriors in their first two games.
Perk: In 15-20 years, Wemby will be in GOAT conversation with MJ, Bron (1:40)Kendrick Perkins explains why Victor Wembanyama has the potential to become one of the NBA’s best players of all time. (1:40)
Why Stephen A. needs to see more from Anthony DavisStephen A. Smith calls on Anthony Davis to step up for the Mavericks after their loss to the Spurs.
Stephen A.: Keep your eyes on the Warriors in the WestStephen A. Smith explains why he has been impressed by the Warriors in their first two games.
What’s front of mind in the league office a week into the season?
What’s one preseason prediction you’d like to revise?
What’s a bold prediction you’d like to make after seeing a week of games?
What’s the most interesting early-season trend you’ve seen?
What’s the one contract situation fans should keep a close eye on?
Which rookie has surprised you the most in the first week?
We’re one week into the 2025-26 NBA season, and there are already plenty of intriguing storylines to follow.
Off the court, the league has been shaken by investigations related to illegal sports betting and rigged poker games. On the court, injuries and surprising surges have dominated the first week. Following 40-point performances from the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen, Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray and Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves on Monday, there have now been 16 40-point games, the most through the first seven days of a season in league history.
Amid the chaos, our reporters and analysts took a look at what has surprised them the most so far, some bold predictions for the rest of the season and which stars are rising. Our reporters also answered the biggest questions facing the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder and six other teams in the early going.
Brian Windhorst: I’ve seen superstar players take leaps in their third seasons. LeBron James finished second in the MVP vote in his third year. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to the playoffs for the first time. Kobe Bryant made his first All-NBA team. The list goes on. But what Victor Wembanyama has displayed is next level.
He has decided, on his own, and that is a key component, that he’s done bailing out teams by hoisting 3s. Yes, the world knows he’s not a “center,” and don’t ask how tall he actually is. He’s a basketball player. He’s a basketball player who, with every giant step he takes toward the basket, increases an unstoppable advantage.
Wembanyama going from nearly nine 3-point attempts per game to less than three is transformational. He’s already a generational defensive talent. Now, he is on the cusp of being one of the league’s best offensive players.
Zach Kram: It typically takes time for rookies to adjust to the NBA game, but the 2025 draft class looks incredible in the early going — and that’s even before No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg fully finds his NBA footing.
At least a dozen rookies have already made a positive impact for their teams, ranging from high lottery picks Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel to second-rounders Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Will Richard. (Yes, there are three Charlotte Hornets on that list.) Cedric Coward was one of the best players in the league at any experience level during the first week. NBA fans should be thrilled to follow these youngsters’ development over the rest of this season and beyond.
Tim Bontemps: The 76ers and the Chicago Bulls — the two East teams everyone predicted would be undefeated a week into the season.
Philadelphia is 4-0 despite Paul George (knee) and Jared McCain (thumb) missing all three games and Joel Embiid (knee injury management) sitting out Monday against Orlando, and Tyrese Maxey and Edgecombe might be the most exciting backcourt in the league. Chicago, meanwhile, has not only started 3-0, but has done so by winning against teams expected to be in the top six in the East (the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Hawks).
Kevin Pelton: Of the four unbeaten teams entering play on Tuesday, three were in the lottery five months ago. It’s not terribly surprising that the Spurs have started 4-0, given their weak early schedule (four games against 2025 lottery teams) and Wembanyama’s early success, but the 76ers haven’t needed much contribution from Embiid in their strong start, and the Bulls have already knocked off two aspiring East contenders.
More generally, as Todd Whitehead of Sportradar pointed out Tuesday, last season’s bottom 12 teams had a better record through the first week than the top 18 from a season ago. Some of that is schedule-related. Because of marquee national TV games, contenders are more likely to play each other early, leaving recent lottery teams easier slates. Even accounting for that, there has been unexpected parity.
Bobby Marks: Injuries. The regular season had not even started, and the Memphis Grizzlies were already in position to apply for a 10-day hardship exception. With Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Ty Jerome missing three consecutive games and out at least another two weeks, Memphis signed Charles Bassey to the exception, the earliest a player has signed since the 1999-2000 season.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers were already without Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) and T.J. McConnell (hamstring) to start the season, then lost starters Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard and reserves Johnny Furphy and Taelon Peter to injuries in the first two games. To make things worse, sixth man Obi Toppin left the game early on Sunday with a right hamstring injury. Indiana signed slam dunk champion Mac McClung, but at the cost of waiving center James Wiseman.
The Lakers had just seven healthy players on standard contracts in their loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. Ironically, the defending champion Thunder lead all teams with the most missed games. In addition, 11 players, including Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox and Jalen Green, are out with hamstring injuries.
Windhorst: The gambling charges are distracting, and the league is beginning the process of looking at further overhauling its injury-reporting systems.
Kram: With two of their best guards and centers injured to start the season, I thought the Grizzlies would be doomed to suffer another lost season. The competition in the West is so extreme that I foresaw Memphis falling behind early and not having enough time or talent to make its way back into the play-in picture.
But the Grizzlies have played solid basketball thus far, and Coward looks like a rising star. As long as Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. stay healthy, Memphis could — at the very least — tread water and stay competitive until the reinforcements arrive in another month or two.
Why Stephen A. needs to see more from Anthony Davis
Stephen A. Smith calls on Anthony Davis to step up for the Mavericks after their loss to the Spurs.
Pelton: Free throw rates are through the roof. The 27.7 free throws per game — six more than last season — would be the most since 1990-91, if maintained. Those last two words are key. Free throws typically go down over the course of the season, with an average drop of 1.5 per game from the first week to the final average during the past decade.
Marks: Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell. Yes, there have been only four regular-season games, but he has already outplayed the three-year, $8.7 million contract he signed in July (the last year is a team option). Mitchell is averaging 18.3 points this season and scored a career-high 26 against Indiana. Per Cleaning the Glass, Oklahoma City is a plus-5.9 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.
Mitchell’s contract and on-court impact are important because Oklahoma City is a projected second-apron team next season. That’s the first year the rookie max extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will kick in. — Marks
Jeremy Woo: Based on the very small sample, it’s Coward. He played only six games at Washington State last season before getting injured — before that, he spent two years at Eastern Washington — so to hit the ground running like this with minimal high-level basketball under his belt at age 22 is special stuff.
Will Coward shoot 70% from the field forever? Will he turn it over 0.25 times per game the rest of the season? No. His breakout 27-point game came against the heavily undermanned Pacers. But the Grizzlies appear to have made a shrewd series of moves by dealing away Desmond Bane, then targeting Coward as his younger replacement with a cheaper contract. It’s not easy whatsoever to slide right into the starting lineup and play at that level. This certainly bodes well.
Ohm Youngmisuk: The Hawks were demolished by the Toronto Raptors on opening night 138-118. Afterward, Trae Young said the team lacked cohesion because the main rotation had barely played together in preseason games.
The Hawks have dealt with injuries and illness to starters such as Kristaps Porzingis (flu-like symptoms), Zaccharie Risacher (ankle) and Jalen Johnson (ankle). Young needs more time to develop chemistry with the team’s new additions.
Tim MacMahon: Cooper Flagg starting his career as a point guard, a position he had never played before, might pay long-term dividends. But the experiment hasn’t been pretty so far. The Mavs rank dead last in offensive efficiency, scoring only 103.8 points per 100 possessions. They were twice held under 95 points during their 1-3 start, one more time than the rest of the league combined through Monday night’s games.
Coach Jason Kidd was hesitant to rely on D’Angelo Russell, playing undrafted rookie Ryan Nembhard more than the veteran in the first two games before giving Russell the sixth man role. Russell has shot the ball poorly (29.3% from the floor), but his playmaking ability is sorely needed while Irving recovers from his March knee surgery. He has a 22-to-5 assist-to-turnover ratio and the Mavs are plus-31 in Russell’s 83 minutes, compared to being outscored by 71 points without him on the floor.