Biggest Disappointments of the 2025-26 NBA Season So Far
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
The start of the 2025-26 NBA season has been defined by extremes. A catalog of players have put up 40-point games. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a historic pace. At the other end of the standings, four teams have three or fewer wins, including the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers.
Gaps have already built between the playoff challengers and the lottery-bound no-hopers in each conference.
Naturally, there have been multiple disappointments across the league so far this season.
Veteran Clippers Fall Off Cliff
The Los Angeles Clippers had an old, yet deep, roster coming into the season. All of that experience appears to have caught up with the Clips, who are 5-13, 24th in net rating, and playing at the second-slowest pace.
James Harden has rolled back the years, but the rest of the team is looking geriatric. Kawhi Leonard’s moments of elite play are less frequent. And, of course, the scandal broken over the offseason is looming.
Bradley Beal is out for the season, Bogdan Bogdanović has missed plenty of time and been a long way shy of his usual standards, and John Collins should be getting more minutes.
Below par in rebounding rates at both ends of the floor and with a horrible turnover differential, the math isn’t working out for these Clippers. It’s looking like an ugly end to a disappointing contending window.
Morant’s Off-Court Issues Become On-Court
Team suspension aside, Ja Morant is having an awful season. He’s injured again and hasn’t taken the court since Nov. 15.
Regression since his All-Star years has accelerated. His 17.9 points per game is only narrowly ahead of his rookie mark for the lowest of his career. He’s getting to the free throw line less often than before, posting a career-low in rebounds, and his 47.7% true shooting is by far the worst of his career. Memphis is 3.1 points worse per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor.
Those are the objective disappointments from Morant. Add in lacluster effort and an attitude that seems like a not-so-subtle trade demand, and Morant has been the most disappointing individual player in the league.
Worse than Feared in New Orleans
There wasn’t much optimism around the New Orleans Pelicans as the season began. Perhaps I was in the minority in taking their over at 30.5 and thinking they could be a play-in team in the Western Conference.
The Pels are 3-15 and 28th in net rating. Willie Green has already been fired. Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole have combined to play 15 games so far.
They are a shambles defensively, giving up far too many threes and struggling to protect the cup. On offense, only four teams take fewer three-point shots.
It looks like the Pelicans will be sending a high lottery pick to the Atlanta Hawks. At least Derik Queen has been good.
Garland’s Injury Woes
It was known that Darius Garland would miss the start of the season, but his toe problems have persisted. He’s played just five games, averaging 13.4 points per game.
The two-time All-Star has missed seven out of 12 games since making his season debut on Nov. 5. This iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers is at its best with Garland and Donovan Mitchell operating in tandem.
Cleveland doesn’t need to be a top seed in the Eastern Conference to go on a deep run, but these niggling issues are a long-running concern for Garland.
His limited production in the minutes he has played raises further questions on how the Cavs construct their roster if these playoffs don’t go as hoped.
Mavs’ Calamity Continues
The overdue firing of Nico Harrison became inevitable when the Dallas Mavericks started the season so poorly. Dallas is 5-14 with the NBA’s worst offense. Anthony Davis has played five games and Dereck Lively II’s injury issues have continued.
Klay Thompson looks creakier than he did last season. Cooper Flagg, in far from favorable circumstances, hasn’t taken to the NBA as smoothly as some expected, and D’Angelo Russell has been as erratic as usual.
Dallas is facing another season of losing. Rumors about potential Davis and/or Kyrie Irving trades are swirling, though the return won’t get anywhere near making up for the deal that ended Harrison’s career in the NBA.
