There's not a ton that you can take from preseason basketball. Some coaches openly admit how much they hate the games. The lineups are all over the place as many teams choose to rest their starters, making stats difficult to weigh.
There have been some signals of breakouts in years past though. Last season, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson immediately showed the scoring dominance that would carry the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals. Anthony Edwards was the surprising preseason leader in made 3's per game, and he made the most at the end of the regular season as well. Evan Mobley led the preseason in blocks and won his first Defensive Player of the Year.
There were also plenty of false positives. Jalen Green had a terrific preseason before disappearing in Houston's most crucial moments. Dalton Knecht was on fire. His trade value has tanked ever since.
It's still fun to try and form some too-big conclusions from the practice games. That's what we're doing today, featuring the best and worst from the preseason through Thursday's games. Here are the preseason MVPs, All-Preseason team nominees, and the biggest over/underachieving teams.
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RANKING BY POSITION:PG |SG |SF |PF |C
NBA preseason MVP: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
After a summer of training with everyone from Chinese monks to Hakeem Olajuwon, Wemby looks ready to jump into the MVP discussion. He's been piling up stats in under 20 minutes per game during the preseason, averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game.
There have been some notable changes to his offense, too. He's playing with a lot more power, which should be terrifying for the rest of the league.
😭 pic.twitter.com/bXHAfOG7Ao
— Bala (@BalaPattySZN) October 13, 2025
There's been some speculation that Wemby may have grown from his last reported measurement of 7-foot-4. Judging from some of the ridiculous plays he's made, that wouldn't be surprising.
.@wemby doing Wemby things pic.twitter.com/zAEE7z0L5A
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 14, 2025
Wemby is probably going to win the Defensive Player of the Year this season. With improved personnel around him and a better scoring bag, he should be a lock for an All-NBA team too. He looks completely recovered from the blood clot issue that kept him out of the end of last season.
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NBA preseason All-NBA Team
Cade Cunningham
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Cade Cunnigham, Pistons
He's only played in two games, but Cunningham is scoring at a superstar rate. He's averaging a league-leading 23.0 points per game, which translated to 38.0 points per 36 minutes. He's only missed nine shots during the preseason, putting up scorching-hot 64/50/91 shooting splits thus far. He's had 20 points by the time halftime rolls around in both of his games. And he's still playmaking at a high level for teammates.
It's hard to overstate how much Cunningham has controlled the game when he's been out there. He's been crafty with the ball, an unstoppable scoring machine, and had one of the best layups that we've seen this preseason.
HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE https://t.co/PrpwWllzGM pic.twitter.com/R3Y9WJ6ed5
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 7, 2025
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Cunningham had a breakout last year, making his first All-Star game. He was good-not-great in the playoffs, and the Pistons have bigger goals this year. The 24-year-old looks like he might have another level to his game.
Austin Reaves, Lakers
This is a big year for Reaves, who will be one of the best free agents available next summer. He is about to get a huge payday if he keeps up his play.
Reaves has looked great both with and without Luka Doncic, giving the Lakers a secondary scoring and ballhandling option that makes the team impossible to guard. Both guards are adept at getting to the foul line, and Reaves has averaged a sterling 6.5 free throw attempts per game.
More impressively, he's been automatic on his 2's, shooting 62 percent from the field en-route to a 20.5 point-per-game scoring average. JJ Redick has compared Reaves' scoring ability to Jamal Crawford, much to the delight of Reaves.
Anfernee Simons, Celtics
It's always a challenge for a player to come into a new team and accept a different role. Simons started every game over his last three years for the Blazers and was good in that role, averaging over 20 points per game during that span.
Now, he may be coming off the bench for the Celtics. And he's been routinely challenged by Joe Mazzulla to play better defense, which has historically been a weakness of his.
Simons has taken to that tough coaching. He's kept his offense going as well. He's leading Boston in preseason scoring with 19.5 points per game, hitting half of his 3's, and taking some reps as the team's lead ballhandler in bench units.
Simons may not be on the Celtics by the end of the year due to their financial crunch, but he looks like he will be a solid contributor before the trade deadline.
Bennedict Mathurn, Pacers
Rick Carlisle announced to Basketball She Wrote's Caitlin Cooper that Mathurin would be the team's presumptive starter this season. Mathurin has rewarded that confidence.
Mathurin has always been a bucket. The level that he's been getting them during the preseason is out of this world though. He's hitting an absurd 69 percent of his field goals and 67 percent of his 3's through the Pacers' first three games. He had an incredible 27 points on 9-of-9 shooting during the first half against the Spurs.
What has kept Mathurin's minutes limited in the past has been his feel for the game. He's improved during the preseason, scoring on timely cuts and keeping his decisions simple. Carlisle has challenged him with tough defensive assignments, including Anthony Edwards. He has looked ready for every challenge thrown at him, becoming a more well-rounded player.
Honorable mention: Brice Sensabaugh, Jazz
Who is leading the Western Conference in preseason scoring through Thursday morning? If you knew that the answer was Sensabaugh, at 22.0 per game, then you're paying way too much attention to preseason.
The Jazz get almost no national media coverage and don't have a ton of interesting players. Sensabaugh's preseason explosion has flown completely under-the-radar. He's been a terrific shotmaker dating back to last year though, combining great 3-point shooting with a nice floater and middy.
Brice Sensabaugh preseason buckets ⬇️
21yo is averaging 22.0 PPG on 74.7% TS (55/44/93) in 24.3 MPG through 3 games pic.twitter.com/JJHviACpYH
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 14, 2025
Sensabaugh will get a lot of opportunity in Utah. He's a one-way player right now, but a fun one to watch.
Biggest preseason overachievers: Los Angeles Clippers
There's been plenty of concern that Kawhi Leonard's contract scandal would serve as a distraction for the team. That hasn't been the case so far in the preseason.
The Clippers are 2-1 through their first three preseason games. They blew out the Guangzhou Long-Lions, lost to the Nuggets, and looked impressive in their most recent win against the Kings.
Lost in all the drama around the team is that they have upgraded the talent significantly from a roster that was already good enough to finish tied for the third-best record in the West last season. New additions Chris Paul, John Collins, and Brook Lopez have looked like seamless fits into the team's rotation. They should anchor the best bench unit in the league. The team has so many veterans that know how to play, and the passing between them has been nothing short of spectacular.
LOOK AT THE BALL MOVEMENT FROM THE LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS pic.twitter.com/BunrPkJjL0
— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) October 16, 2025
Bradley Beal hasn't been able to suit up for any games due to a knee issue, but they haven't needed him. Kawhi Leonard has been totally healthy, scoring at his usual prodigious rate. This could be the team that everyone in the league is sleeping on.
Biggest preseason underachievers: Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers are the league's toughest team to evaluate. Last season, injuries took them from a preseason dark horse contender to the sixth-worst team in the league.
Things haven't fared much better through the preseason. They've been blown out of all three of their first games by an average of 18 points per game, which is the worst mark in the league. More concerning that the losses is the continued poor health of key players.
The Sixers stunk when Joel Embiid and Paul George were out of the lineup last year. Both are already listed as day-to-day with knee issues. Neither has played in a preseason game, and their status for opening day is up in the air.
Embiid's health is tantamount because of the total lack of center depth behind him. Adem Bona is more of an energy big man than a minutes-eater. Andre Drummond was completely ineffective last year.
Jared McCain, who likely would have won last season's Rookie of the Year award had he stayed healthy, is also already out for the start of the year with a torn ligament in his thumb. The Sixers are Sixering, to the surprise of no one.