One month into the season, and the NBA is in full swing. With plenty of exciting moments and interesting storylines stealing the headlines, there have been a few players who have really taken off that are flying under the radar.
Here are five players who have found a new rhythm early in the season and are emerging as the potential superstars of tomorrow in the Association.
The Detroit Pistons have been trending upwards for some time now, with all things seeming to be clicking in Motor City. The praise for this success mainly goes to Cade Cunningham for his heroics, but Jalen Duren has quietly been proving himself as one of the best big men in the NBA.
Now in his fourth season, Duren is averaging a career-high 20.6 points per game. Yes, it is based on a small sample size, but that is 6.8 more points than his previous personal best in 2023-24. He is also grabbing 11.9 rebounds per contest and blocking 1.1 shots per game.
The 22-year-old has scored 30-plus points on three occasions already this season — a feat he achieved just once through his first three campaigns in the NBA. He set a new career-high with a 33-point showing in a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 1, and he also had a 22-point, 22-rebound performance in a victory against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 5.
The Pistons are also placing their trust in the six-foot-10 centre, as he boasts his highest usage percentage of his career at 23.5 per cent. Duren’s averages have him fifth among centres in scoring and fourth in rebounds. If Duren continues on this path, the first-place Pistons will have no choice but to give him a max contract next off-season.
Yes, Alex Caruso and the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA Championship last season, but it may not be too crazy to say that the Chicago Bulls won the trade that landed them Josh Giddey.
Giddey has been on a roll since the second half of last season, a trend which has carried over into this year. The Australian is averaging a near-triple-double of 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 9.7 assists — all career highs, while also playing a personal-best 34.2 minutes per game.
The 23-year-old has secured three triple-doubles in 14 games, the second most in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic. Giddey has also scored 20-plus points five times and set a new career-high of 32 points in a win over the New York Knicks on Oct. 31.
Giddey’s 118 rebounds through the first month are the most by a guard in the league, and he’s dished the fourth most assists by a guard with 116. The former sixth-overall pick is also second in the NBA in assist percentage at 42.2 per cent out of players to play at least 10 games, and with Giddey running the offence, the Bulls average the third most assists in the NBA with 30.2 per game.
Chicago rewarded Giddey with a four-year, $100-million contract in September, and he has been worth every penny through the first month.
It may seem odd to include a former Most Improved Player winner and All-Star in a list of breakout stars, but Tyrese Maxey has reached new heights to begin 2025-26.
Not much has gone right for the Philadelphia 76ers over the last couple of years, but there should be zero complaints about Maxey. The 25-year-old is averaging a career-high 33.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. He is also doing so while playing a league-high 40.7 minutes per game.
Maxey’s scoring at a rate that nobody expected: he hasn’t scored less than 21 points in a game this season. He has exploded for 40-plus twice, 30-plus six times and three separate nights of 39 points. Maxey additionally erupted for a career-high 54 points in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 20.
Maxey trails only Luka Doncic in the scoring race, while also sitting second behind reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for most points scored with 501.
The Kentucky product has been efficient, shooting 47.3 per cent from the field while attempting a career-high 23.4 shots per game. Maxey is also posting a personal-best 61.8 true-shooting percentage, and he’s made a league-high 61 threes.
Philadelphia should be fully prepared to focus on the future and ensure that Maxey is the centrepiece of the franchise moving forward.
With just one win this season, the Washington Wizards seem to be getting outplayed every night. With so much going wrong for the Wizards, it is hard to find many positives, but what Alex Sarr is doing cannot be ignored.
The seven-footer is averaging 18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, and doing so while shooting 51.9 per cent from the field and 35 per cent from three. Sarr has scored 31 points twice already through the first month — he only managed to hit the 30-point mark once across 67 contests in 2024-25.
Sarr’s point-per-game average leads all sophomores through the opening month, and he has the most blocks among second-year players with 28. His 2.2 swats per contest are good enough for second in the entire NBA, behind only fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama.
One of the main concerns of Sarr’s game last season was his efficiency. He has since put those concerns to rest by improving his shooting percentage by 12.5 per cent from last year and his true-shooting percentage by 9.6 per cent.
Sarr also impressively ranks in the top 25 in the NBA for points per game among all top five picks across the league, surpassing players like Cooper Flagg, Ja Morant, and Andrew Wiggins.
The Los Angeles Lakers have entered a new era. Luka Doncic is leading the team, LeBron James is nearing 41 years old and Austin Reaves is blossoming into a star.
There were concerns regarding the Lakers entering the season with James missing the first 14 games. Fortunately, Reaves stepped up in his absence, performing as the ideal complementary piece to Doncic.
Reaves continues to prove himself as one of the best undrafted players of the last decade. He is averaging career-highs in points (28.1), rebounds (5.1), assists (7.6) and steals (1.3). He also had a 51-point outburst in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 26 and a buzzer-beater to down the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 29.
The 27-year-old leads all undrafted players in points per game, with the next highest scorer, Naz Reid, sitting 14.8 points behind Reaves. If Reaves can maintain this output, he could achieve the highest-scoring season by any undrafted player all time.
Reaves’ offensive success goes beyond just undrafted players this season; he is also eighth in the scoring race, averaging more points through the first month than Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson and Devin Booker.
With the Lakers sitting at 11-4, Reaves’ newfound stardom alongside Doncic and James could lead L.A. to new heights.
