The NBA’s opening night was built around three competitive games, and the league’s new 3 p.m. ET start in Detroit ended up making a lot of sense.
It gave the schedule a different rhythm, opened the door for a bigger international audience, and turned Celtics-Pistons into the kind of afternoon showcase the league clearly wanted. On top of that, it worked for the TV product too: instead of just the usual two-game prime-time setup, fans got an extra spotlight game before the night took over.
That early window also delivered one of the day’s best atmospheres. SI’s Blake Silverman was in the arena for Celtics-Pistons and said the crowd was exactly what the league had hoped for. The format could be the start of something new for opening night, since it keeps the defending champions in the first prime-time slot while giving another East Coast team a bigger stage than the traditional late slot would allow.
The most eye-catching result of the night came in New York, where the Sixers spoiled the Knicks’ party with a comeback win. The starting five looked every bit the part on paper and then backed it up on the floor.
With LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the ceiling is obvious, and Maxey was the one who led the way in the box score with 28 points. Embiid helped keep Karl-Anthony Towns quiet on offense, LeBron handled the distribution and kept directing traffic on defense, and Brown gave the Sixers another big shot late.
There are still questions hanging over that group, though, and they start with the bench. Nick Nurse didn’t lean heavily on his reserves, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing 26 minutes and Anfernee Simons 25, while Adem Bona barely got on the floor and Jabari Walker played less than three minutes.
A team with a 41-year-old LeBron and an often-injured Embiid is going to need more than two reliable bench pieces to survive the regular season grind. Dean Wade’s eventual return from an ankle injury should help, but how Nurse manages those minutes is going to matter.
Out West, the night belonged to Chet Holmgren and the Thunder’s answer to Victor Wembanyama. Holmgren’s line - 14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks in a 116-104 win over the Spurs - was solid enough, but the bigger story was how he helped shut Wemby down.
Wembanyama went 1-for-13 from the field, the worst shooting night of his career, and finished with 12 points, 10 of them at the line. His first made field goal didn’t come until the final second of the third quarter.
Holmgren wasn’t doing it by himself. Aday Mara also made his presence felt in 12 minutes off the bench, and the 7-foot-2 rookie came through on the kind of assignment he was drafted for. He denied a Wemby lob at the rim on one of the night’s most memorable plays and added another layer to the Thunder’s effort to make life miserable for San Antonio’s star.
The latest chapter in that matchup is already shaping up to be one of the season’s main stories in the West. If last night was any indication, Oklahoma City has more than one way to make Wemby work for everything.
The best individual plays from the openers were pretty easy to line up. Back-to-back blocks by Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein came in at No.
- Javonte Green’s three-pointer that pushed Detroit’s run to 23 straight points was No.
- Tyrese Maxey’s block on Landry Shamet checked in at No.
- Jaylen Brown’s leaning three to beat the third-quarter buzzer and finish off an 11-0 Sixers surge was No.
- And at No.
1: Aday Mara blocking Victor Wembanyama.
Elsewhere on the schedule, the Dream host the Valkyries at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Dream are coming off their first WNBA Finals win in franchise history, and Angel Reese powered Atlanta to a Game 2 victory with 30 points and 16 rebounds.
The Timberwolves visit the Heat at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, where Giannis Antetokounmpo will make his Miami debut and Minnesota will show off its new backcourt pairing of LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards.
At 10 p.m. ET on ESPN, the Warriors and Lakers meet with Stephen Curry opening his 18th season and the remade Lakers now led by Luka Dončić.
And in the night’s only hockey note, the Flyers visit the Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT after winning two straight following an 0-9 start, with both victories coming against teams that made the 2026 playoffs.
In Other News...
Spurs Thunder Tension Boils Over On Opening Night
Opening night got chippy in a hurry for Oklahoma City, with the second quarter turning into a full-tilt confrontation between the Thunder and Spurs. It started when De'Aaron Fox shoved Chet Holmgren to the floor, and what followed drew in multiple players, including Victor Wembanyama and several members of the Williams family on the Thunder side, as the officials worked to separate everyone and restore order.
The sequence left both teams waiting on the whistle before play could settle back in, and the officiating crew wound up sorting through a messy scene with a flagrant foul and a handful of technicals. For a Thunder team trying to set the tone early in the season, the dustup added another layer of edge to a matchup that was already carrying plenty of opening-night energy. [Read more 🡒]
Aday Mara Just Gave Thunder Fans A First Real Reason To Believe
Aday Mara did not need long to make an impression in his first Thunder action of the 2026 NBA season opener. The rookie center, taken No. 12 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, fit right into a frontcourt rotation that already includes Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, and he found a way to stand out in a game against San Antonio by making his presence felt around the basket.
Midway through the third quarter, with Oklahoma City already in control, Mara helped deliver one of the nights best sequences. He swatted Victor Wembanyama near the rim, then turned around and finished an alley-oop from Ajay Mitchell, a burst of rim protection and finishing touch that gave Thunder fans a real glimpse of why the organization is so intrigued by him. [Read more 🡒]
Chet Holmgren Sparks Early Thunder Spurs Tension On Opening Night
Opening night between the Thunder and Spurs took a sharp turn when Chet Holmgren found himself on the floor after a hard sequence involving DeAaron Fox, and both benches quickly emptied in response. What had been an early-season showcase between two teams with plenty of buzz became a chippy, physical scene in a hurry, with the officials moving in to calm things down before play could continue.
Once order was restored, the game resumed with San Antonio still chasing Oklahoma City in the second quarter. The incident added an edge to a matchup already rich with intrigue, especially with Victor Wembanyama on the floor and the Thunders young core right in the middle of the fray, a reminder that this rivalry may not need much time to boil over again. [Read more 🡒]