7 Biggest NBA Storylines Nobody Saw Coming This Season

The 2026-27 NBA season has just started, and some of the things happening around the league make absolutely no sense. The Portland Trail Blazers are leading the Western Conference, Ty Jerome is putting up MVP numbers for the Memphis Grizzlies , and the Miami Heat are struggling to win games after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo .

The defending champion New York Knicks haven't looked great either, Nikola Jokic is having trouble scoring efficiently, and the Golden State Warriors might have found their next star with the 11th pick in the draft. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder are somehow staying competitive despite losing several important players to injuries.

Eight or nine games aren't enough to predict an entire season, but there's already plenty to discuss, especially with some teams playing completely differently from what we expected before opening night.

Here are the seven biggest surprises of the season so far, and which ones I could see lasting beyond November.

I had the Blazers fighting for a Play-In spot this season, maybe finishing in the top six if everything worked out , but Portland has started 6-1 and currently leads the Western Conference . They're also running the NBA's best offense, averaging 121.9 points per game with a 122.3 offensive rating and a league-leading +11.2 net rating, numbers I definitely didn't expect from this roster.

Their schedule hasn't been easy either, with wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns, including a 132-119 victory over the Suns on Wednesday. Portland has been moving the ball well, creating plenty of open shots, and getting production from several players instead of depending on the same scorer every night. That's been the biggest difference between this team and what I expected to see.

Damian Lillard has been solid since returning from his Achilles injury, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, although his 31.7% shooting from three still needs some work. Deni Avdija has been even better, putting up 23.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists on 47.8% from the field, being that primary playmaker who can run the offense without needing Lillard to set things up.

I love how Avdija is playing right now, especially when he's attacking mismatches or finding shooters after getting into the paint. He had 21 points and 12 assists against the Suns, and having a 6-foot-9 forward handling the ball creates some difficult matchups, particularly with Lillard moving around the perimeter and Jrue Holiday helping organize . Donovan Clingan has also been important as a rebounder and rim protector, giving Portland some much-needed size down low.

The other surprise is that the Blazers have won three straight games without Ja Morant , who suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain . Morant was averaging 15.8 points and 5.5 assists before getting hurt, so losing another ball-handler should've caused some problems, but Portland has kept winning while adjusting its offense around Avdija and Lillard.

I'm not ready to put the Blazers ahead of the Thunder or Rockets in a playoff series, but they're giving us more than enough reasons to take this start seriously. If the offense stays anywhere near this level and Morant returns healthy, I could see Portland competing for a top-four seed instead of spending the season around the Play-In.

Ty Jerome becoming one of the NBA's leading scorers wasn't on my list of possible storylines this season, but that's exactly what's happening with the Grizzlies, where the 29-year-old guard is putting up 27.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He's shooting 50.4% from the field and 37.5% from three, and Memphis is sitting at 6-2 after winning its first six games.

Those numbers are even more impressive when you remember that Jerome entered the season averaging 19.7 PPG in just 15 games last year, and had a career status mostly as a backup. He had scored 30 points in a game only once before this year, and now he's already had two 40-point performances, including a ridiculous scoring stretch against New Orleans when he scored 17 of Memphis' final 19 points.

Jerome's efficiency might be the most surprising part of his breakout, because he's posting a 62.6% true shooting percentage with a usage rate above 30.0%, meaning he's creating a huge scoring load without forcing too many difficult shots. He's been especially good in pick-and-roll situations, using screens to create space for his floater or finding teammates when defenders try to trap him, and I don't remember seeing him this comfortable before.

The Grizzlies have also given him an interesting supporting cast, starting with rookie Cameron Boozer , who's averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. Boozer's 36.4% shooting from the field needs to improve, but his passing and rebounding have already helped Memphis , while Zach Edey provides a physical presence inside and Cedric Coward is contributing 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Memphis ranks fifth in offensive rating at 118.9, fifth defensively at 108.3, and fourth in net rating at +10.6, which tells us Jerome's production is helping the team on the scoreboard, not just empty stats. The Grizzlies lost their last two games, though, and there's still plenty to fix, especially when opponents start forcing the younger players to make decisions.

I don't expect him to keep averaging 27 PPG all season, but even dropping to 20 or 22 would make this the best year of his career by a huge margin. Memphis has found an offensive leader nobody expected, and if the Grizzlies keep winning, Jerome deserves All-Star consideration.

I expected the Heat to become one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference after landing Giannis, but they're sitting at 3-6, 10th in the standings, and coming off an ugly 120-100 loss to the Warriors . The individual talent is there, but Miami hasn't figured out how to make its roster work, especially when Giannis and Bam Adebayo share the floor.

Giannis is at 27.3 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 56.0% from the field, and Adebayo is contributing another 18.6 points and 8.0 rebounds, so neither has been terrible individually. The issue is that both are much better around the basket than on the perimeter, allowing opposing defenses to load up the paint.

Bam is making only 17.9% of his threes, and Miami's outside shooting has been awful at 33% as a team. Andrew Wiggins has been one of the biggest problems , averaging just 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 40.8% from the field and 29.7% from three, which is nowhere near the production Miami expected.

Wiggins' latest performance against his former Warriors team made things even worse, as he finished with only two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 21 minutes. Erik Spoelstra can't expect his offense to work when defenders are already helping off Adebayo and Giannis, and Wiggins isn't making them pay for leaving him open.

The defense has been surprisingly bad too, with Miami allowing 122.9 points per game through its first eight contests and ranking 26th in defensive rating. That's a terrible start for a team with Giannis and Bam, two players who should be providing some of the best rim protection in the league, but the perimeter defense and transition have been major problems.

I still trust Spo to improve the defensive system, but I don't see how he fixes the offensive spacing without better shooting from the supporting cast. And Miami didn't trade for a 31-year-old Giannis to spend the season figuring things out, so if these problems continue, there'll be questions about Giannis staying long-term.

The Knicks were supposed to begin their title defense as one of the favorites in the East after winning their first championship in 53 years and going 16-3 during the playoffs, but they've already had a rough start . They opened the season with three consecutive losses against the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic, and while they've recovered to 4-4, the offense still hasn't looked nearly as good as it did.

Jalen Brunson is at 25.6 points and 5.1 assists, but he's shooting only 41.4% from the field , and the Knicks are scoring just 110 points per game, ranking 22nd in the league. Their 113.7 offensive rating is only 14th, which is disappointing for a roster featuring Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns , OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges .

Towns has been one of their most consistent players with 19.9 points and 13.6 rebounds while making 57.3% of his shots, and I'd like to see him get more opportunities to be the No.1 option when Brunson struggles. The Knicks have the scoring talent to avoid depending on the same player every time, especially with Towns capable of attacking inside and stretching the floor.

The biggest concern has been Bridges , who's averaging just 6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 33.3% from the field and 29.6% from three . He's playing around 25 minutes per game, his offensive role has been very tiny, and I don't understand how New York expects to defend the championship with a wing producing so little.

The Knicks are also playing at the fourth-slowest pace in the league, leaving them with fewer opportunities to recover when trailing late. Their defense remains there, ranking sixth in defensive rating, so at least they haven't lost that part of their identity.

I still expect the Knicks to finish near the top of the East, but Mike Brown needs better production from Bridges and more offensive balance before I'd put them back among the championship favorites.

The Warriors might have found one of the best players in the 2026 draft without even having a top-10 pick, because Yaxel Lendeborg has been outstanding through his first eight NBA games. The 24-year-old is at 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 50.0% from the field and 40.0% from three.

It's one thing for a rookie to score 20 points on a rebuilding team, but doing it for a Warriors roster that's trying to compete in the West makes Lendeborg's start much more impressive. Golden State is 6-3 after winning six straight, and he's already become one of its most important offensive players, providing the kind of scoring help Steph Curry has needed for many seasons.

His 37-point performance against the Clippers was the perfect example, as he shot 13-of-19 from the field, made six threes, and added six assists in a 124-112 victory. Curry and Draymond were both resting, so Yaxel had to handle a much bigger role, and he responded with one of the best rookie performances we've seen in a very long time.

He's already scored 31 points against the Nuggets and 26 against Minnesota becoming just the sixth player in league history to record at least 100 points, 40 rebounds, and 20 assists in his first five games, joining a group that includes Oscar Robertson and Elgin Baylor.

With Curry putting up 30 points on 42.9% shooting from three, having another player who can score makes the Warriors much more dangerous. I expect Lendeborg's efficiency to drop a little as teams adjust, but he's already shown enough to become a top Rookie of the Year candidate .

Nikola Jokic struggling to score wasn't exactly something I expected this season, especially after watching him destroy defenses for basically six straight years. But here we are, with the three-time MVP averaging 23.4 PPG on some of his worst shooting numbers in years, and the Nuggets sitting at 4-3 despite Jamal Murray playing some of the best basketball of his career.

I already went deeper into Jokic's struggles in my recent breakdown , including how his knee injury might have affected his touch. I still think there's something worth watching there, but what surprises me most is how different Jokic looks when he can't simply score whenever he wants. We're used to seeing him put up 30 points without forcing a single possession, and now he's having games where even getting to 20 feels like a lot of work.

And that's becoming a problem for Denver, because Murray is averaging 25.4 PPG, Christian Braun has been solid, and the offense still doesn't look anywhere near the level we saw last season. Cameron Johnson and DeMar DeRozan haven't given them the scoring boost I expected, Aaron Gordon has been inconsistent, and suddenly the Nuggets are asking Jokic to create almost everything again, except his own shots aren't falling like before.

Now, his 32-point triple-double against the Raptors was a good reminder that he's still capable of taking over games, and I'm definitely not expecting him to finish the year averaging just 23 points. But I do think this is the first time in years that we've had a legitimate reason to question whether Jokic can keep scoring at his usual level for an entire season. That's a strange conversation to have about a player who has made offense look so easy for so long, and one I never expected to be having in November.

At this point, I don't even know how the Thunder are still winning games, because they're missing three of their most important players and somehow have a 6-2 record. Jalen Williams is out after undergoing ankle surgery, Cason Wallace needed shoulder surgery, and Chet Holmgren is expected to miss eight to ten weeks with a right knee injury. That's a lot of talent sitting on the bench, especially for a team trying to compete for another championship.

And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is basically making sure they don't miss those guys too much, putting up 30.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He just dropped 43 points against the Cavaliers, then came back two days later and gave them another 42 with eight assists. I mean, 85 points in two games is ridiculous, and the Thunder needed him to go off like that to win both.

The rest of the roster deserves some love, too, because Ajay Mitchell is getting more chances to score, Isaiah Hartenstein is doing his job inside, and Alex Caruso is helping keep the defense together. Even rookie Bennett Stirtz got involved with 16 points against the Cavaliers, and I have to give Mark Daigneault credit for getting this group to win games when some of these guys were supposed to be playing much smaller roles.

Of course, things haven't been perfect, with the Thunder scoring just 110.0 PPG and already losing back-to-back games against Dallas and Houston. They're clearly missing Williams' scoring and Holmgren's presence inside, and having Shai take 35 shots in a game to beat the Cavaliers isn't something you want to see every week. At some point, somebody else has to give him a little more help, especially with those injuries keeping the starters out for a while.

But look, if you told me before the season that the Thunder would be missing Williams, Holmgren, and Wallace and still start 6-2, I would've taken that without thinking twice. They're hanging around the top of the West, Shai is already building another MVP case, and if they can keep winning, they'll be in a great spot for the rest of the year.