The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Of Week 5 Of The 2025–26 Season

Week 5 of the 2025–26 NBA season wrapped up with the kind of drama that makes November basketball worth following. With a breakout star emerging in Portland, an untimely injury, and a franchise in a freefall, here is what stood out midway through November.  

Remember when Deni Avdija was just a role player with the Washington Wizards? As the ninth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, more was expected from the small forward from Israel. Unfortunately for the Wizards, they gave up too quickly on the then-24-year-old. Now in his second year with the Portland Trail Blazers, Avdija is averaging 25.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. And these aren’t just empty stats on a bad team; the Blazers are currently 7–9 and holding onto a play-in berth. At 25 years of age, Avdija is entering the prime of his career and has become the focal point of the Blazers, leading the team in scoring and ranking second in both assists, rebounds, and blocked shots. In his last four games, Avdija has posted 29, 19, 32, and 26 points, including a triple-double effort in a one-point loss against the Chicago Bulls.

Talk about bad timing: the Denver Nuggets announced they will be without the services of forward Aaron Gordon for up to six weeks, and then proceeded to lose to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Suffering from a Grade 2 hamstring strain, Gordon leaves the Nuggets without one of their most important two-way players for a major stretch of the season. Currently averaging a career-high 18.8 points, including shooting 44.4% from three, along with 5.9 rebounds, Gordon had been receiving some early consideration to become a first-time All-Star. What makes the injury even worse for the Nuggets is that Christian Braun is already on the shelf for the next month with an ankle injury. For a team that had high expectations for returning to championship contention, two of its best defenders being out until after Christmas could be devastating.

Unfortunately for the Sacramento Kings, things are going to get ugly before they get beautiful. Off to their worst start since the 1990–91 season, the Kings are on pace to finish with a 19–63 record, which would be their second-worst (17–65 in 2008–09) since relocating to Sacramento. While coach Doug Christie continues to preach patience and encourage better defense, it is tough to do when your roster lacks defensive-minded players and is now without All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis for up to a month. For a team that just a couple of years ago was on the rise and had everyone looking into the sky for the purple beam, it appears that there are just dark days ahead for the remainder of this season.