Dyson Daniels on a tear in opener! | 00:52
**Andrew Jackson from Fox Sports**
October 22nd, 2026 1:37 pm
Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls had a rough season-opener as they were trampled 135-92 by the Toronto Raptors.
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Thursday’s game represented the start of a new era for the Bulls, who held a firesale at last year’s trade deadline and went into this season building around Giddey, Matas Buzelis and rookie Caleb Wilson.
Wilson showed flashes and even connected with Giddey on a few occasions, while the Giddey-Jalen Smith pick-and-roll seemed to be Chicago’s best bet early against Toronto.
But for the most part the Bulls offence looked disconnected and lost for answers against a Raptors defence that may be among the best in the NBA.
Giddey in particular struggled to get into any sort of rhythm as Toronto’s length, physicality and ball pressure caused all kinds of problems for the Australian, who went 1-for-10 from the field.
Giddey did have six assists, bringing up 1,000 dimes in 125 games and becoming the fastest Bulls player to do so in franchise history.
But that was a rare shining light in what was otherwise a dour evening for Giddey, who turned the ball over five times and looked visibly frustrated as he earned a technical foul early in the fourth quarter.
Josh Giddey struggled. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Giddey finished with just two points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and five turnovers with back-up point guard Tre Jones providing some spark off the bench as he put up 13 points in as many minutes.
Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard looked the goods on both ends for the Raptors in his comeback game as he scored 23 points to go with four steals while Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes also chipped in 23 points each.
The 43-point loss was Chicago’s largest margin of defeat in franchise history.
Elsewhere, Dyson Daniels was strangely left off ESPN’s Top 100 NBA players list this pre-season.
Well, it’s safe to say the Australian is back on the mainstream media’s radar after a standout performance on both ends helped the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-125 win over the Orlando Magic.
Daniels was an efficient 8-for-13 from the field on his way to 20 points while he also had five steals, four rebounds and three assists in the victory.
With it, he became just the fourth Hawk since at least since 1973-74 to record 20-plus points and five-plus steals in a season-opener.
The first two possessions of the game was everything Hawks fans have come to expect from Daniels, who recorded a quick steal and then hit Jalen Johnson with the lob in transition all in the space of 20 seconds.
Daniels had a pair of missed 3-pointers early in Thursday’s game, but those misses have often distracted from what he _can_ do and the Hawks guard reminded his critics of that by putting up 14 points and four steals in the first 14 minutes alone.
Dyson Daniels had a big game. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
That included one play where he picked the pocket of Jase Richardson and quickly took it up the court for the easy layup.
“He is unreal. Look at the concentration,” Hawks play-by-play commentator Bob Rathbun said.
The Hawks even substituted Daniels in for fellow Australian Jock Landale in the final seven seconds of the first quarter for a final defensive stand to end the period.
It was a genius move as Daniels went on to force a turnover, which led to an Aaron Wiggins layup.
Even if the 3-point shot wasn’t there, Daniels was still aggressively getting to and finishing at the rim while also hitting a few nice floaters.
Plus, the Hawks need Daniels to keep taking those shots even if they aren’t falling or risk the defence sagging off him like they did at various stages last season.
Landale also had a strong game for the Hawks off the bench with 10 points and three assists, playing through a whack to the face that left the Boomers big man with a visible mark.