Top Five Most Impressive NBA Rookie Debuts

There is something special about a rookie’s first NBA game for both the player and fans. Most players tend to ease into their debut with relatively average performances, but there have been a few who have made a spectacular first impression. For many, these first appearances have foreshadowed the greatness that soon follows.

Chamberlain’s October 24, 1959, NBA debut set the bar for all rookies. Playing all 48 minutes against the New York Knicks, it wasn’t just the 43 points that were impressive; it was the points plus 28 rebounds. Considering that Chamberlain was playing in an era without a three-point line makes the stat line that much more impressive. Averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds during his first season, Chamberlain would claim both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.

On a night in which all eyes were on a game in Dallas featuring 2025 first overall pick Cooper Flagg, it would be the third pick from the draft class that stole the show in Boston as the Sixers’ first-year forward dropped 34 points to help lead his team to a 117–116 victory over the Celtics. Recording 14 of his total points in the first quarter, breaking LeBron James’ debut record for most points in an opening quarter, the forward from the Bahamas finished the night shooting 13 for 26 from the field and 5–13 from long range in a team-high 42 minutes.

There is something about the City of Brotherly Love and rookie debuts. In his first game for the Sixers, Iverson squared off against fellow 1996 rookie Ray Allen as the Milwaukee Bucks rolled into town on November 1. While Iverson and Allen weren’t matched up head-to-head, it was The Answer who not only dominated the rookie battle but also posted the game’s high score in a 111–103 loss. Shooting 12–19 and 2–4 from three-point land, Iverson finished the night with 30 points and 6 assists.

The most hyped rookie of all time to step foot on an NBA court, the 19-year-old from Akron, Ohio, did not disappoint, at least individually. While the Cavs would fall 106–92, James more than held his own against any of the Kings’ defenders, finishing the night with a game-high 25 points, along with 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals.

After playing four seasons at Weber State, not exactly a hotbed of college basketball, Lillard, the sixth pick in the 2012 Draft, found himself playing in the opening-night headliner in a battle of “David vs. Goliath.” Playing host to an LA Lakers superteam featuring Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, and Metta World Peace, Lillard’s 23 points and 11 assists helped lead the Blazers to an 116–106 upset.

Two of the players on this list are Hall of Fame members, another is in conversation for the G.O.A.T., and the fourth is one of the deadliest clutch-time players of his era. While it is too early to tell how Edgecombe’s career will pan out, if his opening-night performance is any indication of what’s to come, NBA fans are in for a treat this season.