Hoops Habit
Fansided

Ranking the 10 splashiest debuts from 2022-23 NBA season opener

By Jacob Ellerbee

NBA PG Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks in action against Jaden Ivey #23 of the Detroit Pistons (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NBA PG Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks in action against Jaden Ivey #23 of the Detroit Pistons (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
NBA Head Coach Will Hardy, Utah Jazz
Mike Conley and NBA Head Coach Will Hardy, Utah Jazz (Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports) /

3. Will Hardy wins his NBA head coaching debut for Utah Jazz in shocking fashion

Making his NBA head coaching debut, Will Hardy shocked the basketball world by upsetting the Denver Nuggets in the season opener for the Utah Jazz.

The Nuggets are a popular dark horse team to come out of the Western Conference as championship contenders, so to watch a new coach get his (seemingly) rebuilding team to rally and upset the Nuggets in his first game is no easy feat. That’s a reason why he’s number three on this list of debuts.

2. Damion Lee looks like a major steal from NBA free agency in Suns debut

When the Phoenix Suns signed 30-year-old guard Damion Lee in the offseason, it was a move that largely flew under the radar of most NBA fans. After all, the Suns are Lee’s third NBA team in six seasons.

But the veteran guard came up big for the Suns in the season opener against the Mavericks. His stat line won’t jump out at you (11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists), but it was his late-game heroics that put him No. 2 on the list of best debuts.

Lee scored five points in the final 1:38 of the game to help complete an epic, 22-point comeback for the Phoenix Suns. Lee’s 10-foot jumper with nine seconds left in the game put his new team up two and enabled Phoenix to knock off their foes from the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals in epic fashion.

Lee’s heroics even got his brother-in-law Stephen Curry out of his seat at home while he was watching the game. It looks like the Suns got a huge pick-up this off-season with the addition of Damion Lee.

1. Paolo Banchero already looks like NBA Rookie of the Year in Magic debut

The No. 1 overall pick from the 2022 NBA Draft, Paolo Banchero, put on an absolute show in his debut for the Orlando Magic. Like, he put up historically big numbers against the Detroit Pistons. The Duke product put up an absurd 27 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in the loss to Detroit, proving he’s well on his way to NBA superstardom.

Next. 3 NBA players who are going to get paid like Jordan Poole. dark

The Magic lost the game, but Banchero is winning over fans left and right with how advanced hhelooks at just 19 years of age.