Opening night in the NBA was filled with veterans who have already made a name for themselves in this league. Last night, we got to see some high draft picks make their debut last night. Here are some videos of their NBA debuts.
Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil lead the way for the Sixers with 26 points and 7 rebounds in his debut. He was able to find his rhythm early with 10 points (5-5) in the first five minutes. His 26 points was the second most ever by a center in their NBA debut with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scoring the most ever in a center’s debut.
Justise Winslow
He didn’t pad the stats like Jahlil did because he didn’t have as much opportunity. But when he did get opportunity, he made the most of it. He played great defense, moved the ball well and had a massive dunk to top off the night.
Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis had a solid debut with 16 points in 24 minutes of play. Porzingis started for New York and made great strides throughout the night. The most surprising factor was that he showed he can be a threat to other teams by getting to the free throw line to coincide with his solid jump shot.
Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns had himself a solid offensive debut. He did not play well defensively against Julius Randle, but he was able to put together an encouraging 14 points and 12 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell
Russell had a somewhat disappointing debut. He played tough in the minutes he was playing but it is an adjustment for him. He was only able to produce four points last night and sat out for most of the fourth quarter. It is still early for Russell and we know the high potential is there.
Emmanuel Mudiay
The teenage sensation lead Denver in a comeback victory last night. Although he had 11 turnovers, he did play 38 minutes and scored 17 points. The turnovers will have to be cleaned up, but he had one of the better debut’s last night.
