Two weeks of NBA action have now passed, and with it a bit more of the 2025-26 season's picture becomes clear. It's still early, but while some season-opening surprises have faded (pour one out for my 'Utah is a juggernaut' dreams), others *cough*the Chicago Bulls*cough* have stayed strong. And that makes me bold enough to put up another round of hot takes and overreactions. These are five of my biggest:
1. VJ Edgecombe will play in the 2026 All-Star Game
Overreactions are overreactions for a reason, but I'd like to think that my take on the Philadelphia 76ers' first week is still going strong. And in fact, I'm going to double down, because through two weeks, VJ Edgecombe hasn't stopped making history — he has continued to be only one of six rookies to average at least 20, 5, and 5. And while you can consider it a hot streak all you want, Edgecombe is not only contributing to winning (the Sixers are 5-1), but he is also legitimately the second-best player on the East's No. 1 seed, meaning an easy argument for two All-Star nods for Philly if they can keep this up.
The bigger crux, however, is the format for the 2026 All-Star Game, which is reported to feature a fully international team, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. And looking at Edgecombe right now, there aren't that many international players that are producing as efficiently as he is for a league-leading team (reminder that he's Bahamian and eligible for an international All-Star selection). The pool narrows even more when you look at the list of international guards, which consist of just Los Angeles' Luka Dončić, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray in Denver, and the star of our next overreaction.
2. Josh Giddey is for real
The other team pacing the Eastern Conference after two weeks is a surprising one, and while no one knows if the Chicago Bulls are for real, we can be certain that Josh Giddey is an undeniable star. He's increased his per game averages for both assists and rebounds by at least one per game, while his scoring jumped to 22.2 points per game from 14.6 during his first season as a Bull.
Keep in mind that these stats all made their jumps alongside his usage rate (27.7 percent), PER (21.5), and true shooting percentage (58.4). Even if you are not a nerd for advanced stats, such a correlation is almost alien. Giddey's volume and efficiency stats are basically all at career highs, and he's currently leading the NBA's seventh highest-scoring offense. Again, it's early, but Giddey is at the very least a leader in the Most Improved Player race. Which might actually be way more interesting than it has been in years past.
3. The Most Improved Player race is absolutely loaded
Year after year, the most talked-about accolade come NBA award season is the MVP discussion. And this year, it will be no different. Can LeBron win one more? Is it finally Luka's turn? Why has Steph been locked out of finalist status again? Could we expect a return to the Jokić v Giannis debates?
Storylines abound. But I'd argue that there are a couple of new candidates that might make themselves known, and they will also be competing for the other M_P award. They don't show up as high as they should on the current odds (it's still too early to back out of your 'Thompson Twin' betting shares), but 2025-26 will be remembered as the great coming out party of the NBA's next next generation. And my bet is that the 2025-26 MIP will be a name that is largely well-known, if not a multi-time All-Star and/or MVP Finalist threat. Because like it or not, we're seeing massive jumps in not just production, but winning production from several names.
You already know about Josh Giddey if you've read this far, but if the Blazers are able to stay in play-in contention, why not Deni Avdija? He's already won one and made an All-Star team, but Tyrese Maxey has somehow made an even bigger leap this year than he did in 2023-24. And of course, the elephant in the room is Wemby's ascendance from 'maybe top-11 when healthy' to calls for him taking the throne as the best basketball player on the planet.
And let's not forget that the 'Thompson Twin' MIP shares, while not dead, are not great either. Amen does not look like he's ready to take the leap just yet, even with Fred VanVleet out for the season, and Ausar is just too overshadowed in Detroit. No -- even if it might go against the spirit of the award, the true MIP race is between some of the greatest and most talented to ever chase it in a given year.
And if you're wondering where Austin Reaves is, spoiler alert ...
4. The Lakers have a true Big Three
Austin Reaves isn't going away. The Lakers' roster outside of Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James is incredibly suspect (though their most recent win over the Portland Trail Blazers without all three in the lineup is encouraging), but they've basically built a new Big Three out of nothing and Reaves doesn't need any more games to prove himself as a true star in the biggest basketball city in the world.
Early goings-on with Luka on the roster were one thing, but Reaves putting up 41 and a career-high 51 points on over 55 percent shooting without Dončić in the lineup should give enough proof that he is a bonafide superstar on any other team in the league. And in fact, Reaves could himself make an argument for the Lakers' current MVP crown, as he has kept them afloat and put himself in a few league-wide MVP discussions.
Of my current, star-studded field for the Most Improved Player award, Reaves has made the biggest scoring and efficiency (PER) jump -- yes, including over Wemby. And in my mind, regardless of what happens when LeBron returns or, basketball gods forbid, whenever he retires, a 31.1 scoring average is simply too big to go away. The Lakers could legitimately be fielding three All-Stars right now when all three are healthy, and at their peaks, three top-10 MVP candidates.
5. Giannis was never going to truly mesh with Damian Lillard
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a rare breed of superstar nowadays. Most, if not all of the current NBA legends thrive either by operating in a system or genuinely creating one themselves. LeBron, Luka, Jokić, and Steph have all either made vision and passing a massive part of their games, or in Steph's case, off-ball movement. Even SGA is averaging a career high in assists this season, even with Jalen Williams out.
But Giannis Antetokounmpo is not that. He is Shaq with a perimeter face-up game, jumper, and lower BMI. Damian Lillard, then, was the perfect Kobe, at least on paper. And on paper, the duo certainly succeeded (both averaged over 20 points per game and made the All-Star roster during both their seasons together), Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Hanna put what made the two seem off best. While Damian Lillard is one of the greatest point guards we've ever seen -- certainly one of the greatest primary scoring point guards -- his role on the basketball court was always to initiate the offense. And in Milwaukee, that's Giannis' job, massive point forward that he is. They became the ultimate 'take turns' duo.
And now that Dame is gone, instead of the Bucks finding themselves in the middle of the pack like many expected, they are instead the third seed in the East, Giannis is averaging the most points, assists, and second most boards in his career on his highest PER ever (40.0), and is back in the 'best-in-the-world' conversation (though we can chalk that last one up to bad short term memory amongst NBA fans). Giannis is not just a system, he is a sun that needs a cast to orbit him. Adding a second sun, while intriguing, just ends with the two getting caught in each other's gravity well.