Grading every NBA lottery pick's first two weeks as impressive 2026 rookie class dazzles early

Darius Acuff Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are just some of the names who have looked great so far If there's one takeaway from the first two weeks of the 2026-27 NBA season (other than the fact that there are way too many injuries), it might be this: this rookie class has the potential to be the best in league history. Maybe that's an overreaction and a case of recency bias, but the stats and film don't lie. This group of players was heralded as one of the best freshmen classes in college basketball history. Not only did those players meet expectations, but they also went beyond them.

It's hard to see a collection of talent hitting college basketball again like that for a long time. Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa was late to the party, but the No. 1 overall pick finally made his debut last week against the Cavaliers after missing the first four games due to an ankle injury. Dybantsa scored 19 points in his first game while being on a minutes restriction. The biggest surprise in the NBA is the Memphis Grizzlies, the only team in the association that hasn't suffered a loss. Cameron Boozer, who has seemingly won at every place he's played — whether in high school, Team USA, Duke and now