Top Performances of the Night (9/30/17)

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2017-18 NBA Preseason and saw the defending champion Golden State Warriors fall to the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in Lonzo Ball's debut. Here are the five best performances of the night.

Kyle Kuzma

Starting off this list is a player I've been high on for a while now. Coming off an impressive Summer League showing where he helped lead the Lakers to a championship win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Kuzma continued to play well in his preseason debut. Coming off the bench, Kuzma played put up a team-high 19 points on 9/12 (75%) shooting, along with grabbing 5 rebounds.

Taj Gibson

Taj Gibson was given the starting power forward spot by the Timberwolves for their preseason opener against the Lakers, and he certainly made the most of it. Gibson put up 18 points on 6/12 (50%) shooting and 9 rebounds. Additionally, despite only being a career 11% three-point shooter, Gibson managed to shoot a perfect 2/2 from beyond the arc. If he keeps up that kind of play he could a permanent spot in the Timberwolves' starting line-up.

Shabazz Muhammad

Along with Taj Gibson, another member of the Minnesota Timberwolves who had a strong showing yesterday was Shabazz Muhammad. Coming off the bench, Muhammad put up a team-high 22 points on 7/12 (58%) shooting and going 8/10 from the free throw line. Additionally, Muhammad grabbed 6 rebounds for a good bench performance.

Gourgi Dieng

Last thing about the Minnesota Timberwolves, I swear. Gourgi Dieng was another player who had a strong showing off the bench for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dieng put up 14 points on 7/12 (58%) shooting while also grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.

Paul Millsap

Rounding out this list is Paul Millsap, who made his debut for the Denver Nuggets last night and made sure to impress. For the night, Millsap put up a team-high 22 points on 7/11 (64%) shooting, along with 4/6 (66%) shooting from three-point range and a perfect 4/4 free throw shooting. Topping it off, Millsap grabbed 11 rebounds as he led the Nuggets to a win over the Warriors.

Honorable Mentions

Mason Plumlee (12 points, 4/8 FG, 10 rebounds)

Emmanuel Mudiay (19 points, 6/10 FG, 3/4 3FG, 6 assists)

Jeff Teague (11 points, 5/13 FG, 9 assists)

Thanks for reading!

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