NBA Opening Night was an oasis in the desert. After months of suffering, basketball is finally back in our lives. This is the best time of year for unabashed overreactions, sample size be damned. That's right: let's talk NBA breakout candidates.

From a detonation in Memphis to a new star big man in Los Angeles, here are the breakout candidates worth of your attention after two (2) days of NBA hoops:

Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies

Ty Jerome was always like that. Well, not always. But the seeds were planted well before his explosive 45-point season debut for the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Jerome put the Jazz in an early grave, shooting 17-of-25 from the field and 5-of-10 from deep. He also added seven rebounds and six assists, with only one turnover.

Jerome won't add much on defense, but he's probably a stealth upgrade over Ja Morant at point guard. It's hard to find such malleable, efficient offensive players on the perimeter. Jerome can bury deep pull-ups; he can work off ball, bury movement 3s off the catch, or snake his way to the rim with cagey, stop-start handles. His effortless command of tempo, with feather-soft touch from anywhere on the floor, is a dangerous combo.

This Grizzlies team is more talented than folks realize, with an edge in feel and physicality that could lead Memphis to be greater than the sum of its parts. Jerome won't score 45 points and hear MVP chants every night, but this guy averaged 19.7 points on 61.6 percent true shooting in 15 games upon his return from injury last season. The breakout was inevitable.

Naz Reid, Charlotte Hornets

There is nobody more dangerous than "the other guy" in a blockbuster trade. LaMelo Ball in Minnesota is understandably the talk of the town — and he looked right at home in his Wolves debut — but new Hornets big man Naz Reid made a statement of his own. He dropped 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting, with four made 3s in Charlotte's win over the Nets. Reid also tallied 11 rebounds and seven assists with a single turnover.

Reid is a Sixth Man of the Year, so we've known he can put up numbers. But he's starting in Charlotte now, with a much larger slice of the offensive pie. He will still take a backseat to Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel (when healthy), but never has Reid been more free to explore the far reaches of his skill set.

More than a floor-spacing five, Reid is a crafty ball-handler in tight spaces, with real vision and flare as a passer. The Hornets are going to run offense through him on a regular basis; Coby White (who's hurt at the moment), LaMelo's replacement, isn't exactly a renowned tablesetter. This is a chance for Reid to blossom into a true lynchpin offensively on a team with postseason aspirations in the East.

Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota steamrolled Miami on the road behind an electric performance from Anthony Edwards and newcomer LaMelo Ball. It's easy enough to lose Jaden McDaniels in the shadows, but be weary. The opening night numbers didn't pop — 17 points and eight rebounds — but McDaniels was immensely impactful on both ends. He shot 8-of-11 from the field and recorded three steals.

McDaniels was my preseason Most Improved Player pick; that isn't necessarily outside the box thinking, but it does feel like McDaniels' room for growth is understated by the broader basketball-watching public. He will benefit as much as anyone from LaMelo's arrival. That will ramp up the pace, allowing McDaniels to use his athleticism in transition. He will also walk into more open 3s, with more driving lanes to attack as defenses collapse on Minnesota's star backcourt.

Already a perennial All-Defense candidate at this stage, McDaniels has a chance to pair elite impact on the margins with a larger, more efficient offensive footprint this season. He won't have Julius Randle mucking up the paint, which is helpful. The Wolves are on the ascent, with McDaniels an essential part of the equation.

Walker Kessler, Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles put a whooping on Golden State late Wednesday night, which probably says more about the Warriors than it does about the Lakers. Still, it was a remarkable debut for Walker Kessler. It's probably a stretch to call the $129 million center, whom L.A. sacrificed multiple first-round picks to acquire, a "breakout" star. Then again, Kessler only appeared in five games last season and Utah clearly did not feel strongly enough about his impact (nor his health profile) to pay up long term.

Kessler found an absolute dream situation with the Lakers. We all remember how Luka Dončić made Dereck Lively look as a rookie rim-runner in Dallas. Kessler scored 26 points on opening night, on a perfect 12-of-12 shooting from the field. He's the first Laker to shoot 100 percent on at least 12 attempts since Wilt; that's not bad company to keep.

Between Dončić and Austin Reaves, Kessler should feast on lobs out of the pick-and-roll and easy feeds off of dribble penetration. He also controlled the glass with nine rebounds and picked up two blocks. When healthy, Kessler is one of the most dominant rim protectors in the NBA. If he can guide the Lakers to even baseline competence as a defensive whole, that will be a real accomplishment.

Kasparas Jakucionis, Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee has a ton of guards on the roster right now, but Kasparas Jakučionis — the most overlooked of the Giannis return haul — has made a strong early impression. Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. predictably led the charge for Milwaukee, but Jakučionis dropped 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench. He recoreded three assists to one turnover and, most encouraging of all, he went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line.

The No. 20 overall pick in last year's NBA Draft, the knock on Jakučionis as a prospect was his limited rim pressure. He was built strong, with great touch indicators, but he lacked the speed, craft and physicality to consistently put two feet in the paint and tilt a defense. If he's forcing penetration and drawing contact on a regular basis, the whole floor opens up. He's a brilliant passer and a knockdown shooter, already comfortable sliding on- or off-ball. He even guards better than he gets credit for.

Jakučionis will come off the bench as Milwaukee's de facto sixth man for now, but there's a real chance he outshines Ryan Rollins and forces Taylor Jenkins into a tough decision. Rollins was phenomenal last season as basically the only viable shot creator on the Bucks; now, with a deeper backcourt, it's fair to wonder if his legitimacy will be put to the test when up against a malleable, high-feel contributor like Jakučionis.