Zags in the Pros Update (10/27)

The NBA season is underway, with a quartet of Zags making their debuts in the opening week. Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs, Joel Ayayi, and Kevin Pangos all saw their first action, highlighting a week with a few other notable performances.

Domantas Sabonis: Domas is off to a scorching start, averaging 24.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in his first four games. He scored 33 points and had 15 rebounds in the season opener against the Hornets, and has already posted three double-doubles.

Jalen Suggs: Suggs scored 10 points in his NBA debut versus the Spurs, and had 14 points and eight assists in his second game against the Knicks. Overall, he is averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals through his first four games.

Kelly Olynyk: Olynyk is averaging 13.7 points, five rebounds, and 2.7 assists in his first three games for the Pistons, including 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists in Detroit’s most recent game. He has scored in double figures in each game so far.

Olynyk and Suggs will face off on Saturday when the Pistons host the Magic at 7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST.

Brandon Clarke: Clarke has been coming off the bench for Memphis to start the season. He is scoring 4.3 points with 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 15 minutes per game.

Corey Kispert: Kispert has gotten into two games to start his NBA career, making his debut last week against the Pacers. He had a bucket in each game, and also picked up a rebound, a steal, and an assist in his debut.

Joel Ayayi: Ayayi made his debut for the Wizards, playing four minutes against the Nets. He did not score or record any other stats. He will likely be assigned to Washington’s G-League team when their season starts this weekend.

Kevin Pangos: Pangos saw a total of seven minutes of action in his first two NBA games. He has yet to score or record an assist.

Killian Tillie: Tillie has not played for the Grizzlies, and will likely start the season in the G-League for Memphis.

Nigel Williams-Goss: Nigel suffered a finger tendon injury last week. He has missed the last two games and will be out for about a month.

Filip Petrusev: Petrusev has been playing sparingly of late for Anadolu Efes, recording a total of six points and four rebounds in 22 minutes in their last two EuroLeague games.

Geno Crandall: Geno is off to a great start in defending his title as British Basketball League MVP. He nearly recorded a triple-double in Leicester’s most recent game, finishing with 10 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, and five steals. He also had 20 points and nine assists in the game prior.

Kyle Wiltjer: Wiltjer scored a season-high 24 points in his last game for Tenerife, shooting 10-16 from the floor and 3-4 from three. He is third on the team with 11.3 points per game so far this season.

Josh Perkins: Perkins had 15 points, six assists, and four rebounds in Brindisi’s only game this week, and is averaging 13 points and 5.6 assists in four games so far this season. His next game will be against Austin Daye and Venezia this weekend.

Silas Melson: Melson is averaging 14.6 points through his first ten games for Kalev/Cramo, including 21 points, five rebounds, and three assists in his last game.

Jeremy Jones: Jones has had a good start with his new team, the Nagoya Fighting Eagles in Japan’s B2 league. He had 23 points and eight rebounds on Saturday and a seven point, nine rebound, four assist performance on Sunday in a pair of blowout wins. He is averaging ten points and six rebounds for Nagoya, who are 7-1.