The NBA‘s 2026-27 preseason has already surfaced real questions about contenders before the regular season tips off, and the early NBA 2026-27 preseason trends point to a league reshaped by trades, returns from injury and awkward reunions. Jayson Tatum looks like himself again in Boston. Walker Kessler gives the Lakers a defensive anchor they lacked.
In Philadelphia, a stacked new starting five is still searching for its footing. None of these are conclusions. All of them are worth tracking.
Tatum’s Return Looks Further Along Than Expected
Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in May 2025 and was back on an NBA floor in less than 10 months, but the version of him that returned late last season shot poorly and fell well short of his usual All-NBA level. He also missed Game 7 of Boston’s first-round playoff loss to the 76ers with left knee discomfort, closing out a difficult stretch.
His preseason debut told a different story. Tatum scored 23 points on 27 minutes with his outside shot falling with confidence, and in the Celtics’ preseason meeting with Philadelphia he finished with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists against a shorthanded 76ers squad. The Celtics have rebuilt around him, adding forward Paul George and center Mitchell Robinson to fill the void left by departed pieces, including Jaylen Brown.
Brown’s Return To Boston Carries Visible Tension
Jaylen Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season while keeping the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference during Tatum’s recovery, making him arguably Boston’s most important player during the Achilles rehab. His exit to Philadelphia and subsequent preseason trip back to Boston did not produce a warm reunion.
During warmups before the Celtics-76ers preseason game, Tatum and Brown ignored each other despite standing steps apart, according to the New York Post. Brown then spent most of the game in the locker room rather than on the bench, skipping what would have been his unofficial return. His official return to TD Garden is set for Jan. 21, which will be the first real test of how that relationship plays out in public.
Kessler Gives The Lakers A Defensive Piece They’ve Lacked
The Lakers enter 2026-27 with Walker Kessler as their new center, and his track record suggests an immediate defensive upgrade. Opponents shoot just 50.6% on attempts within six feet of the rim against Kessler for his career, 13.3 percentage points worse than their average on those same shots league-wide. He has also begun developing a spot-up three-point shot, sets hard screens and rolls with quick decision-making as a passer.
Los Angeles paired that addition with a shooting-heavy offseason. Austin Reaves re-signed for four years and $180 million, Sandro Mamukelashvili signed for four years and $52 million, Quentin Grimes for four years and $60 million, and Collin Sexton for two years and $19 million. Luka Dončić reportedly enters the season in the best shape of his career, and the chemistry between Dončić and Reaves is considered a strength. Read more on Kessler’s path to his Lakers debut and the Lakers’ broader camp moves, including the Jahmir Young Exhibit 10 signing.
The Lakers’ Defensive Question Remains The Counterpoint
None of the Lakers’ offseason additions solve the roster’s clearest weakness. Dončić and Reaves share an excellent bond, but neither is a perimeter stopper, and the same is true of role players Mamukelashvili, Grimes, Sexton and LaRavia. The result is a roster that projects to field one of the best offenses in the league while still needing more defensively than it appears built to provide, a gap that has historically separated good regular-season teams from championship ones.
Philadelphia’s Star Power Hasn’t Translated To Minutes Yet
The 76ers added LeBron James in free agency and acquired Jaylen Brown in the trade that sent him away from Boston, joining him with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in what was billed as a star-studded lineup meant to push Philadelphia into title contention. The early returns on the floor have been mixed by design rather than by performance.
Brown’s preseason debut produced 22 points in just 17 minutes in a 120-97 win over the defending champions, and Edgecombe chipped in 12 points and seven assists in 20 minutes. But James took only one shot and logged 18 minutes across the team’s first three exhibition games, as coach Nick Nurse rotated 10 different players through starting lineups. Nurse’s approach reflects a team prioritizing April, May and June over October, treating the preseason as evaluation rather than audition.
Flagg’s Workload In China Signals A Larger Role
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, used two preseason games at the NBA China Games to show what a franchise-level workload could look like. He averaged 25.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists, with more than a steal and a block per 36 minutes, in a pair of games against a Houston opponent.
Those numbers matter because of the company they’d keep over a full season. Only LeBron James has ever averaged at least 25.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists for an entire regular season, and Flagg is still a teenager. His three-point shot sat under 30% as a rookie, but the preseason sample suggests his instincts, athleticism and work ethic give him a path few young players have had.
What To Watch Next
Boston opens the regular season still needing to see whether Tatum’s shooting confidence carries over once games count, and whether the Brown dynamic shifts before his Jan. 21 return to TD Garden. The Lakers will find out quickly whether Kessler’s rim protection is enough to offset their perimeter defense questions. Philadelphia’s staggered rotations should give way to clearer answers about its five-star alignment once Nurse settles on a regular-season plan, and Flagg’s role in Dallas will be the clearest measure of how much responsibility a rookie can carry for a contender.
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