The Brooklyn Nets didn’t finish opening night in the win column, but there’s still a big positive to take away from the game.

On Wednesday night, the Brooklyn Nets tipped off their 2026-27 season with a 110-103 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center. After making several moves in the offseason, the Nets seemed poised to compete again this season, and they appear to be on the right track despite a loss. 

In the loss to Charlotte, the Nets had several areas where they could’ve played better, but they may have hit on the most important piece of the puzzle. Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. each looked solid, and the fit between the two appears to be coming along nicely. 

In Wednesday’s matchup against the Hornets, Porter opened his second season as a Net with 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while adding seven rebounds and three steals. Meanwhile, Randle began his Nets tenure with 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 11-of-18 from the floor. 

Also getting to the line for an 8-of-11 mark on free throws, Randle quickly asserted his will in his first game in Brooklyn. With the duo combining for 59 points in their first game together, it appears there could be some big scoring outbursts in Brooklyn all season.

As the Nets look to compete for a postseason spot throughout this season, they’ll need to rely upon the duo of Porter and Randle to carry them. With such a young team around them, Randle and Porter each will need to showcase their leadership qualities this season, but getting consistent performances on a nightly basis would be a massive boost for Jordi Fernandez’s squad. 

Ideally, outputs like the one that duo had on Wednesday will lead to wins throughout the season, but simply getting off to a good start is much more encouraging than if both had rough nights. Of course, their big nights didn’t necessarily lead to success for their teammates. 

An overall rough night for Brooklyn’s bench coupled with some troubles from Egor Demin ended up spoiling an otherwise promising night for the Nets. Obviously, the Nets would love for Porter and Randle to playmake for their teammates and make life easier, but that should come with time. 

As for now, the Nets will need to try to bounce back as the schedule gets tougher in the early stages of the season. But as long as Porter and Randle can continue to put up numbers, the Nets should be in a good position to start stringing some wins together.