The NBA got the first taste of Nik Stauskas' second wind, as the fourth-year shooting guard set the Moda Center alight by handing LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the season. Stauskas shined in his season debut with his new team after failed stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets, some that made doubt creep in his mind, not knowing if he would have another chance at staying in the league.

“I mean, I cried sometimes. There was just a lot of self doubt,” Nik Stauskas, who signed a free agent contract with the Blazers this summer told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I had this fear that I was going to be one of those guys who fizzled out and had to go overseas. I would go to bed and be like, this is actually happening. That was scary for me.”

During his stint in Philly, Stauskas met Alexandra Brynn, a woman he's now engaged to after a year of dating. Brynn stuck with Stauskas during his last days in Philadelphia, his trade to Brooklyn and now his new venture into Portland — a city that has brought the Michigan product a different approach

“When he comes home, all he talks about is how much he loves practice, how much he loves the guys, and he has started journaling about basketball,” she said. “I think he has re-found his love.”

Stauskas has felt a connection with the city and the playbook, a fan of Terry Stotts' philosophy, one that has resonated with him along with his teammates on the bench Evan Turner and newcomer Seth Curry.

“These teammates, I just feel a connection with these guys,” said Stauskas. “Especially the second unit. I haven’t really enjoyed playing with a group like this since I was at Michigan.”

Stauskas proved it so by dropping 24 points in the season-opener, nailing trey after trey to keep the Blazers in the game in the first half, staving off a Lakers run.

“I’ve been saying from day one of preseason that this offense is a guard’s dream, just with the movement we have, the screens,” Nik Stauskas said. “For me it’s a dream come true to play in this offense.”

The 6-foot-6 guard has gone from doubting his NBA future to carving one in Portland, now part of a Blazers system that fits him as much as he fits the system.