The second week of the 2025-2026 NBA season proves that the league can still be full of surprises.
While most NBA teams are trending in expected directions, there are some shocking scenarios so far. With week two reaching its conclusion, which teams are off to a shocking start so far?
1. Chicago Bulls
Imagine saying the Chicago Bulls would be off to their best start since the Michael Jordan era this year. Winning five games in a row is nothing foreign. In fact, two other teams have done it as well.
But we’re talking about the Bulls. Just last year, Chicago cut ties with some of its biggest veterans like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. Lonzo Ball was another trade candidate over the summer. The veterans from Chicago’s latest “win-now” window are gone.
The Bulls are younger and seemed to be on a path to a rebuild, but there certainly isn’t a tanking effort going on here. After taking down the New York Knicks on Friday night, the Bulls are 5-0. They’ll have a rematch against the Knicks on Sunday night.
2. Indiana Pacers
The Tyrese Haliburton injury during the NBA Finals made it pretty clear that the 2025-2026 NBA season could be a gap year for Indiana. The same could be said about the Boston Celtics, who lost Jayson Tatum in similar fashion.
The absence of Haliburton, the loss of Myles Turner, and the stockpile of injuries early on have caused the Pacers to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. They seemed strong in the beginning, engaging in a double-overtime battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then, they suffered a beatdown loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Indiana had two tight matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks, but then went down with another blowout loss against the Atlanta Hawks. At this point, the Pacers are 0-5 on the year. If they get slightly healthier, maybe they work their way into becoming a late-season threat with the NBA Play-In Tournament. For the time being, they are one of three teams without a win.
3. Portland Trail Blazers
At the top of the Western Conference, you see some of the postseason regulars. The Portland Trail Blazers have snuck themselves into that early picture, improving to 4-2 on the year on Friday night.
The Blazers made some key changes over the offseason, with one of them being the acquisition of Damian Lillard. The star guard won’t be suiting up this year, making that a move with the future in mind. In the meantime, the Blazers have landed strong outings from Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, and Toumani. Camara.
A shocking in-season coaching change hasn’t derailed Portland. It’s unclear if they can maintain the impressive start, but they have certainly been shockingly solid so far.
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