Cameron Carr, Darius Acuff Jr. Among Rookie Preseason Standouts

NBA rookies are beginning to make their preseason debuts, with several preseason bouts happening nightly across the league.

Over the last several days, over a dozen 2026 draft picks have taken the floor for their respective teams, giving a small indication as to where they're at in their development.

Below, we'll touch on how the rookie class fared in Monday's slate of games:

Timberwolves vs. Bucks

The new-look Bucks rolled out two lottery picks in Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, both of which saw flashes in the team’s blowout loss to Minnesota.

Burries, the No. 10 pick, didn’t shoot particularly well, though he did stuff the stat sheet overall. He scored seven points, dished five assists and nabbed two steals in just 16 minutes of the bench. Ament shot well, scoring eight points on 50% shooting from the floor. He made his one triple and all his free throws while adding two rebounds.

Timberwolves’ rookie Isaiah Evans struggled at 0-for-6 shooting in his preseason debut, though second-year center Joan Beringer starred with 12 points in just 15 minutes.

76ers vs. Knicks

The highest-profile rookie in the star-studded bout between the new-look Sixers and defending-champion Knicks was Labaron Philon, one of the draft’s top sliders.

Philon saw several notable Summer League performances, but shot just 2-for-9 in his preseason opener. He did manage four assists, looking like exactly the bench play-maker the team needs in that regard.

Knicks’ sharpshooter Tyler Nickel shot four times in his eight minutes played, failing to hit a shot.

Suns vs. Pistons

Detroit rookie Ebuka Okorie was one of the top-performing newbies of the day, though he played just 10 minutes of Pistons-Suns.

Okorie, drafted at No. 17, scored seven points on 75% shooting, hitting one of his two threes. He also added a rebound and an assist, finishing as a plus-seven plus-minus.

Suns’ rookie Koa Peat played 12 minutes and added four points and four rebounds.

Grizzlies vs. Hawks

Two top-eight selections faced off in Grizzlies-Hawks, with Cameron Boozer facing off against Kingston Flemings.

Boozer continued to stuff the stat sheet, going for 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in looking like the new focal point in Memphis.

Flemings totaled 11 points on 11 shots, and finished with two assists to three turnovers, though his two-way play still showcased a sky-high ceiling.

Kings vs. Lakers

The clear best rookie duel was between Kings’ top pick Darius Acuff Jr., and the Lakers’ new wing in Cameron Carr, who both combined for 38 points in total at 19 points apiece.

Acuff played well from the jump, shooting just shy of 50% from the floor while adding four assists, two rebounds and a steal and block apiece. There were certainly areas to clean up: he shot just 25% from three and had five turnovers. Otherwise, for his first quasi-NBA action, he was stellar.

Carr was even better, going for his own 19 on efficient 7-for-13 shooting. He canned three triples, and even added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Lakers’ blowout win.

Should Carr stick around as an athletic sharpshooter, he’ll be the perfect add-on in the Luka Doncic-led core.

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