The 2025-26 NBA season is now underway, and alongside the league’s established stars, there are some first-year players who introduced themselves in a big way in the season-opener.
The young stars put up impressive numbers and gave fans a glimpse of what to expect in the coming months.
Here are the top five rookies who stood out.
1. VJ Edgecombe
Edgecombe was picked third overall after Dylan Harper and first overall pick Cooper Flagg in the 2025 NBA draft.
The Baylor standout from the Bahamas showed right away he could be dependable and a future star in Philadelphia, dropping 34 points in the 76ers’ 117-116 win against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
He shot 13 of 26 from the field and 5 of 13 from the 3-point line and grabbed seven rebounds.
His point production was the most scored in an NBA debut since 1974 and the third-most all time.
Former 76er Wilt Chamberlain holds the record of 43 that he set in 1959.
Edgecombe also broke the record set by LeBron James by scoring 14 points in the first quarter.
James scored 12 in the first period in his debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
2. Dylan Harper
The son of former NBA All-Star and five-time champion Ron Harper and Filipino-American Maria Pizarro finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes of action in the Spurs’ 125-92 pounding of the Dallas Mavericks.
Harper, the No. 2 overall pick this season, shot 7-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-2 from the 3-point line coming off the bench for the Spurs.
The Rutgers standout could give instant offense to San Antonio this season, when main players Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle are bottled up.
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3. Jeremiah Fears
New Orleans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears made a good first impression in the season-opener against Memphis, dropping 17 points and two assists in 18 minutes of play for the Pelicans, who lost 128-122.
The 6-foot-3 Oklahoma standout, who was picked No. 7 overall in the draft, was 7-of-10 from the field and shot 3-of-3 from the foul line for New Orleans, which will need more of his instant offense in the coming games to help superstar Zion WIlliamson.
4. Tre Johnson
Tre Johnson showed his capacity to score in bunches for Washington in a 133-120 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Johnson played 26 minutes and put up 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
The 6-foot-5 Texas standout went 5-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-8 from the 3-point line, and was 2-of-2 from the free throw stripe in an impressive debut for the Wizards.
5. Cooper Flagg
The No. 1 overall pick out of Duke put up a hard-earned double-double for Dallas, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds on a losing effort to San Antonio.
Flagg, who shot 4-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in 32 minutes, seemed to be looking for spots in the Mavericks offense, as he was surrounded by superstar veterans in Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson.
He will have a big opportunity to bounce back from the bad night he had against the Spurs in his next game against Washington on Friday.
He will have a showdown with fellow rookie Tre Johnson, who put up impressive numbers in his debut with the Wizards against Milwaukee.
Honorable mentions: Walter Clayton Jr (10 pts, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), Egor Demin (14 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl), Kon Knueppel (11 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (10 pts, 11 rebs, 1 ast, 2 blks).
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SportJustSport writers