Another week of NBA basketball, and another week of overreactions to end it. The Pistons have cooled off a bit (though they still hold onto the East's first seed), the Magic have officially started the 2025-26 season, and the 2025 rookie class continues to shine.
But that's just the top of the barrel for the NBA. Let's dive a little deeper into some hot takes from Week 6 of the 2025-26 season:
1. The Sixers are better off without Joel Embiid
Philadelphia has cooled off since its blistering 4-0 start to the season, and rookie phenom VJ Edgecombe has accordingly cooled off as well (12.8 PPG in November). However, in his place, Jared McCain has officially woken up at the closing of the month, averaging nearly 17 points per game himself over the past week. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey has continued his team-MVP tear over that same span, averaging 23 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. Even sophomore big man Adem Bona got in on Philly's win over Brooklyn, tallying 13 points and 6 rebounds in his first time on the floor in two weeks.
The Sixers might have gone 1-2 over the week, but they have proven that they have the scorers to keep up with anyone in the league, Embiid or no. And even better, they're still sitting at 10-8 going into Week 7. Embiid might be the better scorer right now between him and Maxey, but Philadelphia runs better and faster with him either sitting or playing a tertiary role. The next generation for the Sixers has officially arrived.
2. Brooklyn's rookies are the real deal
It might not happen fast, it might not even happen now, according to Colin Simmons of Yardbarker, but Brooklyn's rookies are starting to show their true colors -- and oh, what colors they are. The week was a glimpse into the potential for the Nets' entire 2025 draft class, except for Nolan Traore, who has remained firmly in the G League. Egor Dёmin got the party started in a loss against Philadelphia's less-than-average perimeter defenders, going off for 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
In that same game, Danny Wolf put up 5 points and 5 redounds of his own as the only Net with a positive plus/minus, and then followed it up the very next day with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists against Milwaukee. Ben Saraf (10 points, 7 assists) and Drake Powell (+7 box plus/minus) also showed what they can do as call-ups in just a little bit of floor time. Rest assured that all four will be spending time either on the bench or in Long Island as Brooklyn tries to goose up their roster's numbers before the trade deadline, but it's not a stretch to say that the Nets seem to have landed at least three hits in the draft.
3. Minnesota's issues can drag them down to the play-in
It's not just their defensive rating that should scare the Timberwolves through the early season, but their overall decline relative to how dangerous they were last year. And don't think that their recent win over the Spurs made much of a statement to the rest of the NBA, either. That win still just brought their record against +.500 teams to 1-7, and it took Minnesota until the fourth quarter to truly pull away from the Spurs without Wemby. Anthony Edwards remains as lethal as ever -- in truth, he's even more efficient on higher volume than he has been his entire career thus far -- but the rest of the roster has to pick up the pace.
Rob Dillingham's development has stalled, Mike Conley, Jr. has officially fallen off another age-related cliff, and the Wolves are have Ant playing point guard. It's not like they have a want of options, either. Bones Hyland and Dillingham have combined for nearly 100 fewer total minutes than Conley through the early portion of the season. But their lack of a true point guard, marquee wins, and defensive ferocity have the sixth seed Timberwolves one Steph Curry and/or Devin Booker surge from tumbling all the way down to the Play-In.
4. Jalen Johnson has officially made the All-Star jump
It's official: after winning eight of their last 11 games, the Hawks are legitimate threats in the Eastern Conference. And accordingly, their MVP has made it so that Trae Young can officially be considered a trade chip for Atlanta's front office. His most recent coup: a 29-point triple double in a win against the Cavaliers, shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3, outlasting a 42 point explosion by Donovan Mitchell.
And that's, not an outlier, either. Johnson's per game averages of 21.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on nearly 50/40/80 shooting splits are only surprising if you haven't been following his career thus far. Throw in nearly two steals per game, and Johnson's play isn't just All-Star-worthy, but leading to actual wins. He is officially creating as much of an impact on the Hawks as Trae Young did a few years back, and if the fans aren't paying attention to it come All-Star voting, the coaches very well better.
5. The Thunder will win 70+ games this season
It doesn't matter that it's been on a relatively easy schedule. It doesn't matter that it's so early in the season. If they keep this up, the 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder must be given their place in the conversation for the greatest teams to ever play. To put this into perspective, OKC just got its best player back in Jalen Williams and are now 20 games into their season, having dropped only one. And they haven't just won -- they've dominated teams.
More perspective: a team's net rating is the number you get when you subtract their defensive rating (essentially points allowed) from their offensive rating (points scored). It's a measure of sheer dominance. Case in point, Jordan's Bulls have the two of the highest net ratings of all time, at 13.4 and 12.0. The first year of the Steph/KD Warriors posted an 11.6. The 2025-26 Thunder, through the first quarter of the season, are posting a 15.2 net rating. That isn't just absurd -- it's the highest in NBA history.