Two games into the 2026-27 NBA season, the early surprise list already has some clear names on it. A few of the offseason’s biggest headline moves are drawing attention, but the real buzz is coming from players who weren’t always expected to sit at the center of their new teams’ plans.
Ty Jerome has been one of the loudest statements so far. In Memphis’ second season with him on the roster, he erupted for a career-high 45 points against the Utah Jazz and powered the Grizzlies to a victory by more than 20 points.
That outing also set a franchise mark for the highest-scoring performance in a season opener. For Jerome, who is in his eighth year in the league, it was a rare scoring explosion - he had topped 30 points just once before in his NBA career.
The Grizzlies’ offense looked like a question mark after the team moved on from both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant over the past year, but Jerome has answered that concern through the first two games. His rise has even shown up in the card market, where his 2019 Panini Prizm Rookie #268 Silver Prizm PSA 10 (POP 86) sold for an all-time high of $99.99 on October 22nd, a jump of $69.99, or 233%, over the past 2.5 months.
Tyler Herro has stepped into a much different spotlight in Milwaukee, where he arrived as a key piece of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. The Bucks’ offense has run through him early.
In Milwaukee’s 132-125 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Herro was the only Buck to clear 20 points, finishing with 34 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. He followed that with a team debut in which he led the Bucks in shot attempts and scored a team-high 24 points.
Through two games, Herro has stacked up 58 points, a personal best for the opening two games of a season. That kind of start points toward him being the Bucks’ top offensive option. His 2019 Panini Prizm Rookie #259 Silver Prizm PSA 10 (POP 864) has also climbed quickly, increasing $32.56, or 139%, over the past month and selling for $56 on October 20th.
Walker Kessler is making a similar kind of early impression in Los Angeles. The Lakers had been searching for a center to anchor the group behind their stars, and after two games, Kessler looks like the answer they wanted. He spent his entire career with the Utah Jazz before this offseason’s sign-and-trade, which sent two first-round picks (2031 and 2033) and two first-round swaps (2028 and 2030) to Utah while Kessler signed a four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers.
The production has been immediate. Kessler has scored 48 points across his first two games in purple and gold, putting up 22 and then 26, and his 84.6% shooting from the field is the best in the league.
In his debut, he went 12-for-12, good for the second-best shooting performance in franchise history. He then followed that with a game in which he became the eighth Laker to record six blocks and three steals in the same contest.
His card market has moved just as fast. Kessler’s 2022 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie #213 Holo PSA 10 (POP 15) has risen $94.99, or 380%, over the past 1.5 months and reached an all-time high of $119.99 on October 24th.
In Other News...
Grizzlies Second-Round Pick Faces A Tough Wait To Start His Career
Richie Saunders path into the Grizzlies organization is already taking an indirect route. The No. 32 pick in the 2026 NBA draft is listed on the Memphis Hustle training camp roster, a strong sign he is beginning on a G League deal while he continues working back from the ACL injury he suffered in February. For a second-round pick, it is not the cleanest arrival into the league, but it does give Memphis a place to monitor his recovery and development up close.
Zach Kleiman has made clear the Grizzlies are approaching Saunders situation with patience, and roster math is part of the reason. Memphis currently has a full slate of standard contracts and all three two-way spots spoken for, so the front office is taking a wait-and-see approach on what comes next for the rookie. If Saunders gets healthy and performs, the door to a standard NBA deal can still open later, but for now his first NBA chapter is set to begin with an uncertain timeline. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Have One Availability Question That Could Change This Matchup
The Grizzlies head into Sundays visit to Sacramento with a chance to keep their early momentum going against a Kings team that has opened the season 0-2. Memphis has started 2-0, and the matchup already has a little extra edge because both sides are dealing with availability issues before tipoff at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Sacramento will be missing three players and has Keegan Murray questionable with an ankle injury, but Memphis has its own frontcourt concern to monitor. The Grizzlies are already adjusting without their starting center, and one more important availability decision could shape how they handle the Kings inside and whether the rotation has to shift again before the ball goes up in Sacramento. [Read more 🡒]
Ty Jerome's Scoring Explosion Leaves Grizzlies With One Big Question
Ty Jerome has wasted no time making himself one of the most surprising early stories on Memphis roster. Through two games, the 29-year-old guard has been scoring at a blistering clip, carrying over the efficient shot-making and heavy offensive responsibility he showed in a brief but productive stretch last season, when he turned 15 games into a strong scoring run for the Grizzlies.
The bigger question is whether this start can hold once the season settles in and the competition tightens. Memphis has reason to enjoy the burst Jerome is giving them, but the early production also comes with a reminder that this kind of workload is hard to maintain over six months, especially if the teams context forces him into a different role as the schedule and defensive attention pick up. [Read more 🡒]