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Here’s a fun, yet meaningless stat a couple weeks into the season. Your individual plus/minus leaders right now are: 5) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+68), 4) Draymond Green (+69), 3) Nikola Jokić (+89), 2) Alperen Şengün (+94), and 1) Jaime Jaquez Jr. (+108). Does it mean anything? I don’t know. But I looked it up, so there you go!
The kids are alright
This rookie class is as good as advertised
Rookies! We love them! They give us so much hope for the future, and sometimes they give us tangible pluses in the present. The 2025 draft class was highly anticipated, like hearing Andre 3000 has made an entire album just playing the flute. We were intrigued. We might have been a little confused. We wondered how Kenny G fit into all of this.
Let’s examine 10 rookies from the lottery who are showing out, including a couple of second-round steals to drop into your group chat. (We’re not hitting on everybody due to newsletter length, but we’ll check in with other rookies soon.)
The top five picks
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks: One of the most hyped prospects in the social media age hasn’t exactly hit the ground running and dunking. He’s averaging 13.6 points but on just 38.8 percent shooting from the field and 30.8 percent from deep. It’s worth noting the Mavs have been playing him way out of position at point guard, but he’s struggling to find consistency. No need to worry, but it’s not the start we hoped to see.
Dylan Harper, Spurs: Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to see Harper for the next couple of weeks as he deals with a lower leg injury. Before that, he might have been my favorite rookie to watch. He has incredible body control and pace on drives, both in the half court and in transition. He’s as crafty around the rim as anybody not named Kyrie Irving. He could end up as the best from this class.
VJ Edgecombe, 76ers: I was told by some scouts before the draft that Edgecombe didn’t show everything he could do at Baylor because he was trying to fit in. Clearly, he’s just hooping now. He’s averaging 19.1/5.9/4.9 with a 59.1 percent true shooting — in the neighborhood of being just the sixth rookie in NBA history to average 20-5-5.
Kon Knueppel, Hornets: The wing from Duke is off to a great start. He’s playing 30 minutes a night and shooting the lights out from deep (41 percent). Knueppel looks pretty comfortable, but I’d like to see more playmaking at some point.
Ace Bailey, Jazz: Bad start for the kid from Rutgers, as he’s not getting much time (17.3 minutes per game) or many opportunities to score. He’s not even making 30 percent of his shots. But at some point, the Jazz will really tank and give him a silver platter on offense.
Other lottery notables
Egor Demin, Nets (eighth): Demin has made 12 shots on the season. The first 10 were 3-pointers. But he is showing a solid outside shot (38.4 percent) he didn’t have in college. It’s only 26 attempts, though.
Cedric Coward, Grizzlies (11th): Another fantastic rookie wing for the Grizzlies. Coward has been superb on both ends of the floor, defending really well for a rookie in his first couple of weeks. He’s also knocking down 48.3 percent of his 3-pointers while averaging 15.3 points. He’s the second-leading scorer among rookies.
Any second-round guys worth noting?
Sion James, Hornets (33rd pick): In his first eight games, he’s averaging 8.8 points with an 83.7 percent true shooting.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Hornets (34th): The big man from Creighton is doing a great job of finishing at the rim, grabbing boards and protecting the rim.
Will Richard, Warriors (56th): The Dubs did it again in finding some second-round success. Richard isn’t getting a lot of time on the court, but you can tell Steve Kerr wants to play him.
The last 24
Do we finally have interconference parity?
🏀 East catching up? John Hollinger is ready to jump to a pretty serious conclusion. The East is nearly on par with the West.
🏀 All-time great? Draymond Green spoke to Sam Amick about his drive to join the greatest defensive players ever.
👀 Ruh roh. Ja Morant was asked if he’s playing with the same joy on the court. He said, “No,” to that question. Sam Amick examines why trading him is more complicated than you might think.
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s “NBA Daily” discusses whether it’s time to take the Bulls seriously.
Tanks a lot
Your team should want to lose for these guys
Tanking is frowned upon! Unless it gets you the franchise player you’re looking for. Then you’re a genius architect who could recreate Atlantis in a matter of days.
For the 2026 NBA Draft, you should tank if you can’t be competitive enough for the Play-In Tournament or higher. There are three incredible prospects off the rip, as highlighted in Sam Vecenie’s mock draft for the 2026 class. Darryn Peterson at Kansas, AJ Dybantsa at BYU and Cameron Boozer at Duke are all top-flight freshmen who could go No. 1, and all of them could absolutely change your franchise.
Let’s get you more familiar with Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer. Tanking is so accepted by us this year that we wrote this while riding in Master P’s gold tank.
Darryn Peterson, Kansas: 6-foot-5 | Shooting guard | Bucket-getter
What we like: He has the absolute smoothest game of the three guys. He doesn’t really have a weakness on offense. He can shoot that thing at all levels. Peterson has a tight handle, gets good separation with his footwork and can pass if the defense swarms him.
What to improve: It’s nitpicking, but he doesn’t play like an amazing athlete. He’s not super explosive compared to some prospects we see, and he’s “only” 6-5 or so. He also makes up for a lot of it with his 6-10 wingspan.
Comparison we hear the most: Prospect Kobe Bryant. Not the NBA version but what we saw in high school. Reminds me of Kawhi Leonard with a jumper (remember he couldn’t shoot at San Diego State).
AJ Dybantsa, BYU: 6-9 | Wing | Bucket-getter
What we like: He’s tall, he has great length and his body control is unreal when he’s attacking on offense. His footwork is tremendous and he knows how to get to his spots. He has an excellent knack for getting buckets under control.
What to improve: Outside shooting. I don’t hate the shooting form, but I’m not convinced he can shoot. He’s not a great free-throw shooter, and that could be an issue. A tighter handle would be good too.
Comparison we hear the most: AJ compared himself to a mixture of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tracy McGrady. We love optimism. He reminds me more of a Jaylen Brown or Pascal Siakam stylistically. But I can see the SGA style.
Cameron Boozer: 6-8 | Forward | Bully
What we like: This kid is physical and has the footwork to take full advantage of any mistakes you make in trying to absorb his contact. He’s a monster on the boards, his shot looks reliable/productive and he can move the ball too.
What to improve: What position does he defend in the NBA? He can’t really be a small-ball big. Might not be quick enough to hang on the perimeter. That could be an issue.
Comparison we hear the most: Paolo Banchero — and it isn’t just the Duke thing.
About last night
Thunder remain perfect, move to 8-0
The first 12 minutes of the LA Clippers hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder looked great for the home team. But such is life when you’re facing the Thunder these days. Sometimes it looks pretty good, and you might even think, “Tonight is our night.” Next thing you know, a 10-point lead after one quarter turns into you getting outscored by 29 points and losing 126-107. The Thunder beat their 7-0 start to last season’s championship campaign. And they’ve done all of this without Jalen Williams, who still hasn’t made his season debut after offseason wrist surgery.
Bulls 113, 76ers 111: Your Chicago Bulls (6-1) are in sole position of first place in the East. The 76ers led by as many as 24 points and were up 13 in the fourth, but Josh Giddey found Nikola Vucevic in the corner for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left.
Hawks 127, Magic 112: Atlanta (4-4) led by as many as 25 points and did whatever it wanted to Orlando’s defense (3-5) without Trae Young. Let’s see how Desmond Bane handled the loss.
Raptors 128, Bucks 100: The Bucks (5-3) were on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Raptors (4-4) flat-out smoked them. Thanasis did not play.
Warriors 118, Suns 107: Moses Moody had 24 points to lead a 63-point bench effort for the Warriors (5-3). Also, remember that Draymond article we linked above? Kevin Durant responded on social media!
Pelicans 116, Hornets 112: No Zion. No LaMelo Ball for Charlotte (3-5). New Orleans got its first win of the season and probably saved coach Willie Green’s job momentarily.