NBA early-season surprises: Victor Wembanyama’s start, Klay Thompson’s fit and more

The 2024-25 NBA season is less than two weeks old, but some noteworthy trends are starting to emerge across the league, including some we perhaps weren’t expecting.

What has been each team’s biggest surprise so far, good, bad or ugly? The Athletic posed that question to its NBA staff. Here’s what they said.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

Payton Pritchard’s new level: Following a solid 2023-24 season, Pritchard appears to have taken a leap after averaging 16.2 points per game over the Celtics’ first five contests. Entering Thursday night, he was tied for second in the NBA with 23 made 3-pointers and has done that despite no perimeter injuries above him on Boston’s depth chart. Incredibly, given that he comes off the bench, Pritchard has attempted nearly 10 3-pointers per game. He is playing with a green light so far. It’s not easy to earn more playing time on this Celtics roster, but Pritchard is making the case. — Jay King

Brooklyn Nets

Jordi Fernández: The Nets coach got his big break to take over a team widely earmarked for the worst record in the league, but he has Brooklyn playing on a string and looking like a team fighting for a playoff spot. In the Nets’ last three games, they’ve beaten Milwaukee and Memphis, bookending an overtime loss to Denver. Dennis Schröder and Cam Thomas are combining for 52 points per game, and Fernández is making small-ball lineups work while Nic Claxton is on a minutes restriction. The Nets really have been one of the pleasant surprises of the early season. — Jared Weiss

New York Knicks

Lack of 3s: Before Wednesday night’s game in Miami, when the Knicks fired up 40 3s, New York was dead last in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game. It’s surprising only because the additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, two good 3-point shooters, added to a starting lineup this offseason that already featured Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, two more good 3-point shooters. The Knicks need to iron out spacing kinks and not turn down as many looks in hopes of getting a better shot. The performance against the Heat was a step in the right direction. — James L. Edwards III

Philadelphia 76ers

Poor deep shooting: With Joel Embiid and Paul George out to start the season, the Sixers were counting on their supporting cast to step up. Tyrese Maxey has been going all out to carry the team, but his teammates have been bricking everything he’s feeding them. The only Sixer making more than a third of his 3-point attempts is Kyle Lowry, something that should at least be ameliorated when George and Embiid return. But if Philadelphia is going to fulfill its potential this year and prove this core is worth sticking with long-term, the supporting cast needs to hit open shots. — Jared Weiss

Toronto Raptors

Jonathan Mogbo’s production: Thanks to a spate of injuries, the Raptors have gone deep down their roster to fill out the nightly rotation. A pair of second-round rookies, Mogbo and Jamal Shead, have played real minutes. Both have been good, but the way Mogbo has been able to impact the game as a non-center without a jumper has been a nice surprise. Mogbo has been excellent in transition, both as a passer and finisher, and was tied for sixth in the league in deflections entering Thursday night despite playing just 83 minutes through five games. — Eric Koreen

Central Division

Chicago Bulls

Lonzo Ball: It wasn’t long ago that most hoop heads thought they would never see Ball on an NBA court again. Not only is Ball back, but he looks great. His shooting has been money. His vision and passing are still on point. He’s even keeping the Bulls connected defensively by shifting, swarming, talking and trapping. Ball is on a 16-minute restriction, and he’ll now be sidelined for at least 10 days with a sprained right wrist. Still, he’s been a pleasant surprise. More than that, he’s been one of the Bulls’ most positive contributors. — Darnell Mayberry

Cleveland Cavaliers

Evan Mobley seems better: Or, I should say, the new Cavs coaching staff has seemed to have found a way to better utilize Mobley while Jarrett Allen is on the floor. Mobley is handling the ball a lot more, and his assists are up — running the offense through Mobley has allowed the team to maintain spacing while keeping its two bigs on the floor at the beginning and end of games. This is a surprise because, well, if it were possible, the Cavs should have been doing it last season. It’s early in the season, but Kenny Atkinson deserves credit. — Joe Vardon

Detroit Pistons

Jaden Ivey: Although Cade Cunningham is on pace for a career season offensively, Ivey has been the Pistons’ biggest surprise. Entering Wednesday, Ivey was averaging at least 20 points for the first time in his career and shooting a career-best 42.9 percent from 3 on 5.3 attempts per game. If that’s not impressive enough, Ivey was shooting 50 percent in the restricted area on 7.5 attempts per contest. Per NBA.com, the only players in the league shooting a higher percentage on more attempts are Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jeremy Sochan, RJ Barrett and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Ivey seems to have found a rhythm with his pace offensively, and his shot looks fluid. — Hunter Patterson

Indiana Pacers

Bennedict Mathurin: Mathurin’s season-ending injury last season was unfortunate for him and for the team, which made it to the Eastern Conference finals anyway and was competitive against the Celtics. I did not see Mathurin returning and having this impact through five games, trailing only Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam in scoring. Halloween just passed, so let’s not start nonsense talk like, “So and so is the favorite to be NBA Sixth Man of the Year,” but through five games, Mathurin has proved a legitimate bench threat. — Joe Vardon

Milwaukee Bucks

Poor effort and focus: After a strong opening night against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bucks brought a lazy approach to the first half of their games against the Bulls and Nets. In both contests, the Bucks paid for it because both teams carried the confidence they gained in the first half to the second half. Bucks coach Doc Rivers called the two losses “horrible games.” Frankly, it’s been shocking to watch a team that entered the season believing it could contend for a title bring such poor focus and effort in the first week. — Eric Nehm

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks

Dyson Daniels: Amid a rough start that saw the Hawks lose twice to the lowly Wizards and suffer numerous injuries, the play of Daniels has been among the few bright spots. Acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade with New Orleans, the 21-year-old Australian has been a terror on defense with 15 “stocks” (total steals and blocks) in just four games. Daniels also is contributing a respectable 12.8 points per game on 35.3 percent shooting from 3. The 6-foot-8 Daniels looks like a long-term fixture in the backcourt as a defensive stopper next to Trae Young. — John Hollinger

Charlotte Hornets

Nick Richards: Maybe Tre Mann is the easier answer, as he’s nearly doubled his scoring average this season, but Richards has stepped into the void that is the center spot for the Hornets with Mark Williams out. Richards’ counting stats are up, as are his per-100-possession stats. The Hornets are 2-2, in part, because of their surprising effectiveness on the offensive boards. They lead the NBA in offensive rebounding rate, according to Cleaning The Glass, after ranking 28th last season, and they’re first in putback points per miss. It’s all helped them put up the league’s fourth-most efficient offense per 100 possessions despite being just 13th in effective field goal percentage. Richards is second in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game and in the 100th percentile among bigs in offensive rebounding rate, while averaging 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. — Mike Vorkunov

Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo’s lack of scoring: Entering this season, one of the most fascinating storylines in Miami was the potential expansion of Adebayo’s offensive arsenal. While Adebayo is already one of the best two-way players in the league, the hope was that extending his shooting range to the 3-point line and surrounding him with better guard play would make him an even bigger threat offensively. Through four games, he’s the fourth-leading scorer on the Heat, averaging 11 points per game, and he’s attempted more than 10 shots in a game only once. Miami has to make him a bigger priority. — Will Guillory

Orlando Magic

Anthony Black’s playing time: The Magic have one of the deepest teams in the league, but Black is averaging a hefty 25.6 minutes per game. It’s not that Black isn’t talented. He was the sixth pick in the strong 2023 draft, after all. It’s that he’s carved out a key role this early in his second season at 20 years old. He played a significant factor in Orlando’s opening-game victory in Miami after Jalen Suggs faced early foul trouble. Given Black’s positional size and feel for the game, he has a chance to develop into an essential member of the Magic’s nucleus. — Josh Robbins

Washington Wizards

Bilal Coulibaly’s growth: Team officials and fans hoped Coulibaly would take a big step on offense in his second NBA season. But during the preseason, he was nowhere near this assertive — or this good. (To be fair, he missed Washington’s final two exhibitions because of an injured left index finger.) Aside from a high rate of turnovers, he’s been superb in an enhanced playmaking role. It’s not just that he’s averaging 18.8 points or even that he’s shooting 59 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3. It’s his overall confidence. And, remember, he turned 20 in July. He has been impressive, and that’s important for Washington’s rebuild.  — Josh Robbins

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Christian Braun: I thought it would take Braun a few weeks, or even months, to properly acclimate himself to his new role as Denver’s starting shooting guard. Instead, he’s been one of the best two-way players on the roster so far. He’s not trying to replace what the Nuggets lost with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He’s being himself. He’s getting out in transition. He’s cutting to the basket. He’s scoring off opportunities, and he’s been stellar defensively. Now, if only Denver can find itself a bench… — Tony Jones

Minnesota Timberwolves

Missing KAT … on defense: When the Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the immediate reaction was a concern for an offense that was 17th in efficiency last season replacing one of its two best weapons. In the first four games of this season, where they missed KAT was on defense. His size, rebounding and synergy with Rudy Gobert were crucial in the Wolves’ top-ranked defense last season. So far this season, the Wolves have had difficulty ending possessions because they give up offensive rebounds. And they are getting worked in transition because Randle does not yet have the cohesion with Gobert that Towns had. It may just take time to click in. Meanwhile, the Wolves defense has plummeted to 13th in a very small sample size. — Jon Krawczynski

Oklahoma City Thunder

SGA’s 3-point attempts: The Thunder’s mission to chuck up 3s from everywhere has bled into the game of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Never before has he put up close to this many long balls. He took only three a game over the past two seasons. Through Oklahoma City’s 4-0 start, he’s averaging more than eight. Gilgeous-Alexander’s strength has always been inside the arc. It’s worth monitoring how the trend continues. — Fred Katz

Portland Trail Blazers

Two wins already: Oddsmakers placed the Blazers’ over/under line for season wins at 21.5. In other words, this is expected to be one of the NBA’s bottom-feeder teams. Yet, here are the Blazers after the first 10 days with wins over two returning playoff teams — New Orleans and at the LA Clippers — in their first five games. There has been some encouraging play — Toumani Camara is emerging as an NBA All-Defensive team-type player, and Deandre Ayton has double-doubles in every game. And there have been some discouraging trends — Deni Avdija is struggling with his shot and lottery pick Donovan Clingan is having a hard time getting extended playing time. But overall, the biggest surprise is the young Blazers are not only winning but beating seasoned, playoff-hopeful teams. — Jason Quick

Utah Jazz

Kyle Filipowski: The sample size to this is small — actually, it’s limited to this week, when Filipowski was ushered into service because of the injury to Taylor Hendricks. But Filipowski has been good on both ends of the floor. He’s shown to be a versatile piece with the ability to score on the interior and the perimeter. He made his first career NBA start on Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs and should be a rotation piece through his rookie season. — Tony Jones

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Buddy Hield: The last we saw Hield, he was having trouble getting on the floor in the playoffs for a Sixers team that needed extra depth and craved shooting around Joel Embiid. It was fair to wonder whether the Warriors signed him to a four-year, $37 million deal (with opt outs) at the declining stage of his career. That remains possible, but Hield has looked like a perfect fit in Steve Kerr’s movement system, immediately becoming a popular locker room personality. He already has games of 21, 22, 27 and 28 points in 15, 20, 29 and 29 minutes. He enters the weekend making 50 percent of his high-volume 3s. — Anthony Slater

LA Clippers

Terance Mann’s struggles: Some people may be surprised by Ivica Zubac’s offensive emergence, but they shouldn’t be. Zubac has always had offensive production in him. But so has Terance Mann, who has gotten off to a rough start. In the first four games of this season, Mann has more fouls (15) than points (14), while missing all six of his 3s and all three of his free-throw attempts. Mann has always had underwhelming volume, but that at least came with high-level efficiency. So far, Mann looks like a player who is lost offensively, and Amir Coffey and Kris Dunn are closing games over him. — Law Murray

Los Angeles Lakers

Anthony Davis: Davis is playing arguably his best basketball as a Laker in this young season, averaging 30.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.0 blocks. Coach JJ Redick said he wanted to empower Davis and make him the focal point of the offense, and so far, he’s backed up that messaging. Davis is on pace to post the highest scoring average of his career and his second-highest usage percentage (31.5 percent). The Lakers are ensuring he touches the ball all over the floor, with the intention being for him to touch it on each possession. Combine that with his typically elite defense, and Davis would be in the MVP conversation if the season ended today. — Jovan Buha

Phoenix Suns

Ryan Dunn: Everyone knew the rookie’s defense would translate. At Virginia, Dunn was among the better defensive players in the country. The question was his shooting. Three ACC assistant coaches told me they admired Dunn’s defense and respected his rebounding and athletic ability but had no interest in guarding him from 20 feet. That’s what makes Dunn a surprise, the biggest in this rookie class. Not only is he taking on Phoenix’s toughest defensive assignments (guarding LeBron James, Luka Dončić and James Harden), but he’s making 3s and shooting with confidence. It has earned him a spot in Mike Budenholzer’s rotation, and if he keeps it up, it will keep him on the court in the final minutes of close games. — Doug Haller

Sacramento Kings

Shooting guard position: After labrum surgery, there were no guarantees Kevin Huerter would be ready for the regular season. But he was cleared right before opening night, and Mike Brown immediately plugged him back into the starting shooting guard role that many believed Keon Ellis had ripped from him permanently. The Kings explored Huerter’s trade market this summer but didn’t find an appealing enough offer. Huerter’s value plummeted during a career-worst performance last season. But he had a successful track record before that, and he’s looked like his old self shooting and moving in the early going. That’s a large development, lengthening Sacramento’s rotation by moving Ellis into a bench role. — Anthony Slater

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Klay Thompson: It’s not quite a surprise, but it is important for the Mavericks that Thompson has played well. It was always going to be interesting to see how good he’d be in Dallas since he’s 34. It’s not like the Warriors let him walk because he’s in his prime. But Thompson has shot the ball well — he’s hitting nearly 40 percent of his nearly 10 3s per game, though he struggled Thursday against Houston. It’s even more pertinent since he’s historically been a slow starter — he’s a career 35.7 percent 3-point shooter in October. Thompson has fit in well with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, and his dip in scoring makes sense since he’s playing a less vital offensive role than in Golden State (his usage was down to 19.4 percent entering Thursday), but the Mavericks need him to hit shots. — Mike Vorkunov

Houston Rockets

Jump in offensive efficiency: The Rockets have a borderline top-10 offense (11th in efficiency entering Thursday, per Cleaning the Glass), and it’s not just about Jalen Green’s fourth-year leap, shooting improvement or a major change in scheme. It’s simply about the subtle power of screening. Last season, coach Ime Udoka urged starting center Alperen Şengün, who generated 9.6 points off screens per game, to be more willing to create scoring opportunities for others around him. Şengün got stronger and improved his conditioning in the offseason — in addition to the arrival of Steven Adams, the screen god himself — which has worked wonders. Entering Thursday, Houston was scoring 15.6 points per game directly off Şengün screens, and the Rockets’ athletes are thriving. — Kelly Iko

Memphis Grizzlies

Santi Aldama: With all due respect to the Jay Huff experience (wahoowa!), I’d say Aldama’s start has been more notable for Memphis’ long-term future. Perhaps motivated by the lack of a contract extension, Aldama has broken out in his fourth season, averaging 12.8 points on 52.1 percent shooting while being pressed into service as a starter three times in five games. Included in that total were 10 made 3s after Aldama shot just 33 percent on low volume from distance last season. If the 23-year-old Spaniard adds a true stretch game to complement his mobile 6-11 frame, he becomes a much more credible inside-outside threat. — John Hollinger

New Orleans Pelicans

Zion’s inefficiency: Throughout his career, Zion Williamson has proven to be one of the most efficient, high-volume scorers in NBA history, but he’s been the exact opposite to start the 2024-25 season. After missing the Pelicans’ regular-season opener due to an illness, Williamson is shooting just 36.4 percent from the floor in his last four outings, and his team has lost three of those four games by at least 15 points. He’s had bad shooting games before, but he’s never struggled this much over a four-game span. — Will Guillory

San Antonio Spurs

Wemby’s Jekyll-and-Hyde start: The Spurs’ offense is a mess (29th in efficiency as of Thursday morning), which is somewhat understandable in the second year of a rebuild, but Wembanyama’s scoring has ebbs and flows. On some nights, like the first home game against Houston and Thursday against Utah, he looks like the dominant, versatile big we’ve come to adore. On other nights — Wednesday’s national TV showdown against Chet Holmgren — he looks out of it. Coach Gregg Popovich said it might take Wembanyama about a month to find an offensive rhythm after a lengthy summer of basketball. But the second-year big said he feels fine physically, speaking more about the quality of shots he’s getting. And he’s right; there’s responsibility on the part of Chris Paul and Popovich to create advantageous situations — but the Spurs will ultimately go as far as Wembanyama’s shoulders will take them. Devin Vassell is inching closer to a return, which should bring some spacing familiarity and prevent defenses from loading up. — Kelly Iko

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(Top photo of Klay Thompson and Victor Wembanyama: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)