The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder have opened the 2025-26 NBA season at 6-0. That's hardly a surprise. Victor Wembanyama is destroying all challengers after an offseason of unconventional training methods. That's not shocking, either.
However, the first nine days of the season have featured plenty of unexpected developments.
A pair of teams that were in the lottery last year are the only remaining teams in the Eastern Conference. One player with two very famous co-stars is taking advantage of their absences to make his own star turn. And one player on one of the league's worst squads is quickly emerging as a potential long-term keeper.
Using preseason expectations as our baseline, let's walk through some of the biggest surprises from the opening week (and change) of the season.
1. Utah Jazz
The Jazz entered the season with a league-low 18.5 win projection. That skepticism wasn't totally unfounded, either. After going 17-65 last year, they waived Jordan Clarkson this offseason while trading Collin Sexton, John Collins and Georges Niang for a pittance.
The Jazz's season-opening 129-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers served as a wake-up call that they might not be as bad as expected this year. They followed that up with close losses to the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers, as well as an overtime win against the Phoenix Suns in which Lauri Markkanen erupted for a career-high 51 points.
Utah is leaning into its size advantage by starting two 7-footers in Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen, along with the 6-foot, 11-inch Kyle Filipowski. Meanwhile, third-year point guard Keyonte George is averaging career highs in points (22.3) and assists (9.3), although his efficiency from long-range (22.2 percent) leaves much to be desired.
Markkanen has been a fixture of trade speculation in recent years, as the 28-year-old didn't seem to fit with the rebuilding Jazz's long-term timeline. But if he can help them move past the sub-20-win-season portion of their rebuild, he might be a keeper after all.
2. Philadelphia 76ers
Paul George and Jared McCain still have yet to make their season debuts as they recover from knee injuries, while Joel Embiid has played a total of 63 minutes across the Sixers' first four games. Despite that, they've begun the season 4-0, including victories over the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.
Tyrese Maxey has gone full supernova by averaging a league-high 37.5 points per game across his first four appearances. His 150 total points are the 11th-most in NBA history over the first four games of a season. Maxey and Russell Westbrook in 2016-17 are the only two players in league history to put up at least 150 points and 30 assists in that span.
VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 overall pick in June's draft, is making history of his own. He racked up 75 total points over his first three games, which put him in a four-way tie for the ninth-highest-scoring start to an NBA career. Right below him? Some guy named Michael Jordan.
Beyond Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers are getting valuable contributions from their supporting cast as well. Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow and Justin Edwards have all come up big at times during this undefeated start. That begs the question… are the Sixers too good?
3. Chicago Bulls
The Sixers aren't the only undefeated team in the East to come out of nowhere. The Bulls, who've been hovering around .500 in recent years and largely stood pat this offseason, have already picked up wins over the Magic, Kings, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
Matas Buzelis, whom the Bulls selected 11th overall in the 2024 draft, already has a pair of 20-point outings under his belt after topping that mark only five times as a rookie. Josh Giddey, whom the Bulls signed to a four-year, $100 million contract this summer, is averaging a well-rounded 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from deep.
The Bulls are also getting quality contributions off the bench from Kevin Huerter (14.8 points per game), Ayo Dosunmu (14.8 points) and even Patrick Williams (9.3 points). Meanwhile, starting center Nikola Vučević has three double-doubles across his first four appearances.
Starting with Friday's NBA Cup game against the New York Knicks, each of the Bulls' next 11 opponents currently sits at .500 or better. In a week or two, their hot start could prove to have been an early-season mirage. But for now, the Bulls are giving their fans legitimate hope for the first time in years.
4. Kyshawn George
Speaking of fanbases who've been largely devoid of hope recently… not much has gone right for the Washington Wizards over the past half-decade. If these first five games are any indication, though, they might have hit a home run with Kyshawn George.
The Wizards took George with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2024 draft. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a rookie while shooting 37.2 percent overall and 32.2 percent from three-point range, which hardly screamed "future star." That isn't the case anymore.
George topped the 20-point mark only three times last year. He's matched that in his first four games this season. Although the Wizards are 1-4, George is averaging a team-high 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 3.4 made threes, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals while shooting 53.2 percent overall and 54.8 percent from deep.
Alex Sarr, whom the Wizards drafted second overall in 2024, still might have the highest upside of anyone who's currently on the roster. But if they found a keeper in George as well, the Wizards' rebuild may be further along than expected coming into the year.
5. Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves decided to bet on himself this past offseason and declined to sign a four-year, $89.2 million extension with the Lakers. That decision is looking increasingly wise.
With LeBron James sidelined by sciatica and Luka Dončić having missed the Lakers' past three games with finger and leg injuries, Reaves has taken over as L.A.'s No. 1 option for the time being. In those three games without Dončić and James, Reaves scored a career-high 51 points in a win over the Kings, notched 41 in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers and had 28 points, a career-high-tying 16 assists and the game-winning bucket against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
The Lakers upgraded Dončić to questionable for Friday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, so Reaves' time in the spotlight may be drawing to a close. But until LeBron returns, Reaves still figures to run the show for the Lakers whenever Dončić needs a breather.
Any team that was considering making a run at Reaves in free agency next summer has to be encouraged by his showings without Dončić and James. He might not be a Luka and/or LeBron merchant after all. He might be a star in the making instead.