Ranking the 3 best rookie performances on the first full night of NBA basketball

The NBA season is officially back with the first full night of the year hosting 10 different games, 20 teams playing, and close to 20 rookies making their NBA debut.

A wide consensus going into the draft that this wasn't an obvious future superstar. Through the first night, there wasn't a sign that anyone would become one too. It was only the first game of the season and the first of their careers but no one changed any minds yet.

A lot of rookies had a chance to showcase what they've been practicing and preparing for their entire lives. Here are the three best rookie performances of the first full night of NBA games.

3. Jaylen Wells

If there were to be any rookie on the Memphis Grizzlies to have a standout performance in night one, most would assume it'd be the National Player of the Year, Zach Edey. As for tonight, that crown belongs to Jaylen Wells.

Wells was a mid-second round pick in the 2024 draft coming out of Washington State. Standing at 6-foot-8, the Grizzlies need someone like him to fill in the void left by Jaren Jackson Jr. who is out with an injury.

For his debut, he played against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City and played extremely well. In 23 minutes, he scored six points, had one assist, one steal and shot 2-for-6 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

Despite the shooting inefficiency in his first NBA game, Wells gets a top-three spot because he was a plus-10, meaning the Grizzlies were 10 points better than the Jazz when he was on the court. And since the Grizzlies won 126-124, every minute he gave was valuable.

2. Jamal Shead

Jamal Shead is another mid-second-round pick who had a big night in his debut for the Toronto Raptors. Shead is a 6-foot point guard coming out of Houston and is fighting with Davion Mitchell to be the backup guard for the Raptors.

In his debut, he had the chance to play close to 19 minutes and he played very well. He scored 10 points, had four assists, one rebound, one steal, and one block. He went 3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-4 from 3 and made all three of his free throws.

One thing that really hurt Shead was that the Raptors were outscored by 21 when he was on the court. But the Cavs beat the Raptors by 20 and he made the most of his garbage time opportunities.

1. Yves Missi

Yves Missi was a late first round pick for the New Orleans Pelicans, and he is a very important piece for this team. The Baylor center is the only active center the Pelicans have on the roster, and he came up big for them in his rookie debut.

In 23 minutes of action, he scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had one assist, one steal and three blocks. He went 5-for-8 from the field, hit both of his free throws and finished the night as a plus-4.

Missi's night was very important to the Pelicans as he led them in blocks, second in rebounds, and was one of five players to score double-digit points. This helped them beat the Chicago Bulls, at home, 123-11.